Harry Kane played through pain beyond the threshold in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 Champions League quarterfinal win over Real Madrid, and Vincent Kompany said the striker came through it cleanly. Kane, restored to the line-up at the Santiago Bernabéu after an ankle injury, scored in the first leg and ended the night one goal short of his 50th for Bayern.
Kompany said Kane was fine after the match and had no reaction the next day, a major relief with Bayern due to host Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. The Bayern coach also indicated he may rotate his side for Saturday’s Bundesliga visit from St. Pauli, and he left open the possibility of using the depth around players such as Serge Gnabry as the schedule tightens.
That first-leg result in Spain left Bayern favourites to reach the Champions League semifinals, but Kompany was quick to stress that the run has been built by the whole squad. He said Bayern are only at this point on April 10 because every player has been involved, and added that any one or two changes for the weekend would simply reflect the rotation the team has used all season.
The German champions are also chasing a 34th Bundesliga title and hold a nine-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, which gives Kompany room to think about freshness without losing control of the league race. St. Pauli, by contrast, enter the matchweek 16th of 18 and have failed to win any of their last four matches, though Kompany said Bayern have a lot of respect for them after needing two goals in stoppage time to beat them earlier in the season.
He said that game was a reminder that St. Pauli are rarely simple opponents, and that the last few meetings have been incredibly difficult. With Real Madrid still to come and Bayern’s margin in the league still large, Kompany faces a choice that has become familiar: protect the legs of key players now, or keep pressing the advantage on both fronts.
