Soccer Football - Bundesliga - VfL Wolfsburg v Bayern Munich - Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg, Germany - August 25, 2024 Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany reacts after the match REUTERS/Carmen Jaspersen
(Reuters) - New Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany praised his side's mentality after they came from behind to beat VfL Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday.
An 82nd-minute goal by Serge Gnabry secured the German champions a 3-2 win at Wolfsburg and handed Kompany, who replaced Thomas Tuchel after their disappointing third-place finish last season, a winning start in the Bundesliga.
Bayern took the lead thanks to Jamal Musiala's 19th-minute goal but started the second half in shocking fashion as they gave away a penalty seconds after the restart and made a defensive error which put the hosts ahead.
However, Gnabry and Harry Kane linked up to grab a late winner and seal all three points for Bayern.
"I enjoyed it, it was my first Bundesliga game as a coach," Kompany, the former Burnley manager, said after the match.
"The first half was dominant, as it should be. We didn't concede any chances. The second half wasn't good at the beginning, we conceded two quick goals. The third point is that our mentality was right at the end, and that's why we won the game.
"Mistakes happen, the important thing is how the team reacts. That took a while in the second half. Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman came in with the right mentality and the tempo came back.
"At the end of the second half, we had a lot of courage to win the game. It wasn't perfect, but we'll keep going."
Joshua Kimmich said Bayern's reaction was good in the second half.
"It was extremely difficult, the pitch was very dry, so the game stalled at times. Perhaps it wasn't always presentable. But in the end I'm happy that we won it. The mentality was right," the German international said.
Bayern next host SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga in a week's time.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
