The key facts

  • Bayern beat Atlético 2:0 away in the Champions League
  • The team arrived in Madrid without coach Kompany and with four first-team players injured
  • After the win, Bayern moved up to 8th in the table, while Atlético sit 22nd of 36

Victory amid a squad crisis

Bayern Munich claimed a 2:0 away win over Atlético Madrid in a Champions League match on Tuesday, overcoming a long list of absentees, AFP reports. Munich's injury list included Jamal Musiala, Luis Díaz, Serge Gnabry and Ismael Saibari, while head coach Vincent Kompany did not fly to Madrid due to an illness linked to meningitis. Before the match, however, the team received one piece of good news: Michael Olise, who was substituted late in Saturday's game against Borussia Dortmund due to a knee injury, was cleared to start.

Course of the match

The opening goal came from 17-year-old (according to AFP, a teenager) German forward Lennart Karl: he took the ball from defender Robin Le Normand, who had held onto it too long, and chipped it over the onrushing goalkeeper Jan Oblak. The second goal was scored by Konrad Laimer, who finished a pass from Harry Kane with a shot off the crossbar. Ten minutes from the end, Dayot Upamecano headed in a third goal, but it was disallowed for a foul in the build-up. For the hosts, Julián Álvarez missed a chance to open the scoring early in the match, and Atlético lost Cristian Romero to injury on the day of the game.

Reactions and standings

Laimer, named UEFA's player of the match, told Amazon Prime that there had been 'a lot of noise' around the team before the game, but the club believed in its squad, and the win over a good team brought 'three important points'. Captain Manuel Neuer noted that the team had 'stood together' during the difficult recent weeks and answered doubts about its ability against a top club sitting just two points behind Barcelona in La Liga. Atlético midfielder Marcos Llorente admitted on Movistar+ that the opening goal caught the hosts off guard: 'It was like a bucket of cold water.' Thanks to the win, Bayern, with two victories and two draws, moved up to eighth place in the 36-team table, while Atlético remained 22nd.

Kane fails to break Ronaldo's record

Kane, who recently won the Ballon d'Or, provided the assist for Laimer's goal but did not score himself — and thus failed to match Cristiano Ronaldo's streak of scoring in 11 consecutive Champions League matches. Nevertheless, according to AFP, it was Kane and captain Joshua Kimmich who were the main architects of the team's play despite the significant absences.