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Vincent Kompany hails two Aston Villa stars as Bayern boss admits he tried to sign £15m man
On a famous night for Aston Villa – hosting a Champions League fixture for the very first time – Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany was a coach gracious in defeat.
Often, games on a stage such as this can be decided on the finest of margins.
Such as the split decision which ensured Jhon Duran’s latest supersub winner – lobbing Manuel Neuer to write his name into Aston Villa folklore alongside 1982 European Cup hero Peter Withe – did not suffer the same fate as Pau Torres’ VAR-denied first-half effort.
Such as the magnificent Emiliano Martinez save to deny Bayern Munich a last-gasp equaliser.
Vincent Kompany’s outstanding start to life at Bayern may have ground to a halt at a bouncing Villa Park but, speaking post-match, the former Manchester City captain was far from devastated.
Disheartened, maybe. Disappointed, certainly. But devastated? Definitely not.
Vincent Kompany hails Aston Villa after Bayern Munich triumph
“They are a strong team, and this place is not an easy place,” Kompany says, opting to pay tribute to Unai Emery’s victorious hosts rather than focus on the negatives. “It wasn’t a bad performance and we had chances.
“We missed some big chances, and then they scored the chance.”
They certainly did. More than Aston Villa too.
But while Serge Gnabry fired high and wide, while Martinez pulled off stunning stops to deny Michael Olise and Harry Kane, the eventual winner came from the most unexpected of sources.
Just like he did against West Ham and Everton, breakout star Duran again wrote his name into the headlines with a sublime first-half finish.
But, while Duran will obviously dominate the back pages, do not underestimate the role both Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers played on the night.
He might not have tested Neuer in around 70 minutes on the pitch but, as former Villa skipper Gabby Agbonlahor predicted, Watkins’ pace and movement caused plenty of problems for Bayern’s backline.
Kompany hails Aston Villa duo Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers
“I mean, Ollie Watkins has so many qualities to mention,” Kompany adds. “But one of his qualities is to split two centre-backs, take up a position in the middle, drop of a shoulder and then go from there.
“It doesn’t make him less dangerous when he is marked by two. The point for us was more to not let Villa come into the game and to try and impose our game. We had a lot of the ball and, when we have the ball, we are dangerous.”
Duran, meanwhile, was not the only Aston Villa youngster who truly announced himself on the biggest stage of European football. Morgan Rogers is a player known to Kompany from their respective spells in Manchester City’s academy.
And, confirming that he had attempted to sign Rogers for Burnley presumably before the 22-year-old moved to Middlesbrough, Kompany highlighted the unpredictable nature of football at the highest level as a host of EFL graduates went toe-to-toe on the Champions League.
“We tried to sign a lot of players at Burnley you know! There was a few today on the pitch actually for Aston Villa!” Kompany, who also coached Ian Maatsen at Turf Moor, adds when asked about Rogers.
“Its football. Were all in the Championship playing against each other and now we are on the main stage!”