'Far bigger than just three points' – Eberl hails Bayern's defiant Freiburg win without Kompany
Eberl: Bayern's Freiburg triumph transcends the table
Bayern Munich sporting director Max Eberl has declared that the reigning champions' 3-1 Bundesliga victory over SC Freiburg on Sunday represented something far greater than three points, after an extraordinarily difficult week for the club.
Having been held to a 2-2 draw by Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, Bayern travelled to the Europa-Park Stadion without several key players and without head coach Vincent Kompany, who remains hospitalised following his collapse on Friday. Undeterred, the visitors delivered an impressive display, building a two-goal cushion through Dayot Upamecano and Serge Gnabry before surviving a late Freiburg fightback. Michael Olise eventually sealed the win in the fifth minute of stoppage time, returning Bayern to the top of the Bundesliga.
Speaking to DAZN after the contest, Eberl was full of praise for the resilience shown by the players and the coaching staff who lost their figurehead at short notice.
"I don't think we even realise yet what we've really achieved today. After the week we've experienced, with all the hurdles we've had to overcome, the injuries and then the news about Vinnie on Friday, which really hit all of us extremely hard."
"What the team achieved today, what we achieved as a group, including the coaching staff around them, who suddenly lost their figurehead, is really extraordinary," Eberl added. "Today's victory gives us three points, but it's a far bigger victory than just three points."
Control, then chaos – and a defiant finish
Eberl was particularly impressed by Bayern's performance across the opening 80 minutes, while conceding that a failure to extend the lead made the closing stages needlessly tense.
"I think the team played an almost perfect away game for 80 minutes. Almost, because we didn't take our chances to make it 3-0, and that's how you end up in trouble again."
"But the way we defended in the last nine minutes, how determined we were to hold on to that 2-1 lead and then deservedly make it 3-1, makes it a really big victory," he said.
Keeping Kompany's structure intact
With Bayern's coaching staff temporarily operating without Kompany, Eberl stressed the importance of preserving the Belgian's framework.
"Vinnie has worked incredibly hard here for two and a half years. He has his coaching staff around him, and they know exactly how he thinks, how he works and how he wants things done. A hugely important figure for our sporting success is currently out of action. Now we have to pull together. Everyone has to give those extra three, four or five per cent. It's a rather simplistic phrase, but we have to stick together."
Eberl reserved further praise for the stand-in coaches – Aaron Danks and Rene Maric – who have been tasked with guiding the side in Kompany's absence.
"The team, together with the coaching staff, did a really outstanding job in such a short space of time, with the news we received."
What comes next
Bayern now turn their attention to Wednesday's DFB-Pokal tie against Magdeburg, before next weekend's Klassiker against rivals Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena.