Determined Vincent Kompany says Bayern Munich must 'start again' after record first half to season
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany is reluctant to take plaudits at this stage of the campaign, suggesting the league leaders still have work to do despite recording the best first half of a season in Bundesliga history.
Kompany said after the 3-1 win in Cologne on Matchday 17 that saw Bayern break the record: "I congratulated the boys a bit, but it's not a priority for me to have the record. It's not a title. The second half of the season starts tomorrow, and we'll start again from scratch. We want to win that too."
The Belgian even hinted at a reluctance to acknowledge the feat, saying, "It conflicts with my mentality to celebrate a record during the season."
Watch: Cologne 1-3 Bayern - highlights
Kompany's grounded tone could not take away from the delight of his players to have come back to win a tough midweek encounter against a dogged Cologne side.
Serge Gnabry, who equalised shortly before the break with an improbable bouncing finish from a tight angle, said after the final whistle: “It feels very good. The coach just said to us that we’ve achieved the record at the halfway mark. That obviously makes it feel even better. It was a very important win against tricky opponents."
Bayern's board member for sport Max Eberl said: "I think the record speaks for itself. We've never scored so many goals and never taken more points at this stage of a season. We do value records as you have to achieve something extraordinary to set records at Bayern Munich."
Eberl added that they wouldn't be "making a big fuss" of the achievement with a return journey to Munich planned on Thursday and another trip looming to Leipzig for a clash this Saturday evening (kick-off 6.30pm CET) that could prove a stern test of their unbeaten record.
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