Bremen the focus not Celtic, says Bayern coach

Berlin — Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said Friday’s Bundesliga game at home to Werder Bremen was his team’s only focus and top priority and he was not yet spending time thinking about next week’s Champions League playoff against Celtic.

The Bavarians, who have opened a six-point gap at the top, with champions Bayer Leverkusen second on 45 points, failed to secure automatic qualification to the Champions League last 16. They must now face Celtic in Glasgow on Wednesday in the first leg of the playoff.

“In terms of structure, Werder Bremen and Celtic are different,” Kompany said. “But at the moment there is only Bremen, nothing else. “The only game that we can win tomorrow (on Friday) is against Bremen and not Celtic. So the priority for us is only this game against Bremen.”

Bayern are desperate to restore their domestic dominance after Leverkusen won the league and Cup double last season, leaving the Munich club without a trophy, a rarity in the past 15 years.

They have ruled the title race so far, even though there have been lapses of concentration such as conceding three goals in 28 minutes in the second half against Holstein Kiel last week as they edged the game 4-3 after leading 4-0.

They also lost 3-0 to Feyenoord in January despite dominating the game for long periods.

“They were different matches. In one case you lead 4-0 in the other case it is tight and every moment matters a lot,” Kompany said. “Every moment in the entire season has to be important. Then you have this maximum success. But it is not easy. We are humans.

“I would also like to say that at the moment every team in Germany has let in more goals than us. Every single one. But I don’t want to use it as an excuse.

“We have conceded goals, that’s the truth. It is not always easy to be perfect but that is our goal,” he added.

Reuters