Kompany Explains Kane and Olise Absence in Bayern's Draw with Schalke
Vincent Kompany insisted there was nothing mysterious about leaving Harry Kane and Michael Olise out of Bayern Munich’s starting XI in the goalless draw with Schalke – just cold logic.
The Bayern coach, speaking after his side were held in the second round of the Bundesliga, underlined that both stars are still short of full match sharpness after late returns and a draining cup outing.
“It was simply a rational decision,” Kompany said. “They came back very, very late from their break, and the Osnabrück match drained a lot of energy from them.”
The DFB-Pokal tie at Osnabrück clearly shaped his thinking. Kompany made it clear that the club had ring-fenced that game as a priority, even if it meant taking a hit in the league a few days later.
“The priority was for them to be available for it, because it was a German Cup tie,” he explained. “Then I had to make a decision about today’s match. They are still not properly ready to bear a full physical load. It was a rational decision.”
No Kane from the start. No Olise either. And no goal.
Schalke, fighting for every yard, frustrated Bayern across 90 tense minutes, closing lanes and throwing bodies in front of shots. Kompany refused to pin the stalemate solely on his own players’ wastefulness, instead tipping his hat to the visitors’ resistance.
“Every match has its own story,” the Belgian said. “Unfortunately, today’s story was that we could not score. This does not detract from Schalke’s performance. They really fought hard and closed the spaces well.”
Bayern still carved out chances. They penned Schalke in for long spells and hunted the ball with ferocity the moment they lost it. Kompany took clear satisfaction from that side of the display.
“On the other hand, the counter-pressing we did today was exceptional, and we did not allow them to create any chances,” he noted. “We also created many clear chances against a compact defence, so there are positives too.”
The positives, though, sit alongside a blunt reality. At Bayern, a dominant performance without three points rarely buys much patience.
“In the end, the result is what it is,” Kompany said. “At Bayern Munich, you can only be happy if you win.”
His calculation with Kane and Olise may pay off over the longer stretch of the season. The question now is how much margin for error Bayern will actually have while those “rational decisions” play out.
