By Adegboyega Adeleye
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has defended his players after consecutive draws, insisting the German champions are close to finding their best form.
Bayern drew 2-2 with Augsburg in the Bundesliga before a 3-3 draw away to Viking in the Champions League. They had to come from behind in both matches, raising questions about their finishing and defending ahead of Saturday’s home game against RB Leipzig.
But Kompany pointed to Bayern’s attacking output as evidence that the team is making progress.
“We want to attack,” he said at Friday’s pre-match press conference. “In the last two matches we shot 50 times on goal. If we do a few things better, then we are not too far from our very best version.”
Kompany said his players remained “sharp and motivated” and were relishing a demanding run of fixtures. After Leipzig, Bayern face Arsenal in the Champions League, Bundesliga leaders Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund, with a German Cup tie against Magdeburg also on the schedule.
“These moments that some people think might be difficult, we say these are the best moments you can have in your career,” he said. “If you win these matches, then you have created some moments.”
The coach added that Bayern’s players were pushing themselves in training and would have to show their response on the pitch.
On the defensive concerns, Kompany said the team had discussed what needed to improve and was ready to move on.
“We’ve got a process. We discuss things as a team or with individuals. It’s important to draw a line under things quickly,” he said. “Now we go to the next game.”
Kompany expects a difficult test against Leipzig, who he said were arriving in Munich with confidence and had dangerous wide players and attackers.
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had not trained ahead of the match because of a foot issue, while Aleksandar Pavlović trained normally on Thursday. Kompany said Pavlović would be available if he completed another full session.
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