Kompany trick! This trick helped Bayern to victory against Pauli | OneFootball

FC Bayern laboriously, but ultimately deservedly, won 3-1 against FC St. Pauli on Saturday afternoon. In a tough Bundesliga duel, a clear reaction was needed after going behind and a courageous intervention from Vincent Kompany – and that’s exactly what the head coach delivered. Thanks to a tactical adjustment in the final phase and a flexible Joshua Kimmich, the record champions turned the game around late on, but convincingly.

As expected, Kompany had rotated his squad after the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, with Raphaël Guerreiro moving into attacking midfield and Tom Bischof and Konrad Laimer taking up the full-back positions. However, the right side in particular was barely functioning before half-time. Laimer was unfortunate in his passing and tackling and was involved in the early 1-0 deficit with a ball loss.

Guerreiro, Stanisic, Kimmich: The big right-back shuffle

photo: IMAGO

Kompany reacted: Michael Olise came on for Laimer at the break, moving Guerreiro to the unfamiliar right-back position. When the Portuguese left the pitch after 66 minutes, Josip Stanisic took over – but only temporarily. Kompany changed his system again in the final phase, bringing freshness and stability at the same time.

Then came the decisive step: Joshua Kimmich moved to the right side of defense, the position where he had once started his professional career.

It was already injury time when the change had an effect: Kimmich received the ball in a typical full-back position, looked up briefly and sent a pinpoint cross into the penalty area. Luis Díaz got through in the center and pushed the ball over the line with his shoulder to make it 2:1.

A scene that was emblematic of two things: Kompany’s willingness to consistently rebuild – and Kimmich’s versatility, which can make the difference in tight games.

Julian Nagelsmann will have watched this sequence with interest. The national coach is firmly planning to play Kimmich as a right-back in the back four – not in midfield. The 30-year-old showed impressively that he can still produce world-class moments in this position.