PARIS (AP) — Vincent Kompany may have been the only spectator at the Parc des Princes who didn’t enjoy watching the game. Thrilling Champions League semi-final match with his Bayern Munich team paris saint germain.
he was barred from the touchline He was suspended for one game.Kompany found it difficult to leave the game as he and his staff sat in the press box with earphones on.
“It’s not funny,” Kompany told Prime Video. “If it doesn’t happen again, I’ll be satisfied.”
The twists and turns of the first leg, which PSG won 5-4, were clear from the look on Kompany’s face. Kompany, guided by his assistant Aaron Danks on the touchline, smiled and shook hands with staff during the first half, but with his team trailing 5-2, he looked grim before resuming play.
“You can’t make decisions 80 meters (262 feet) away,” Company said. “But I appreciated how the players responded from high up in the stands.”
Kompany’s PSG coach Luis Enrique took a different view from the sidelines, declaring it was the best game he had ever managed.
In the past, Luis Enrique had voluntarily taken a seat in the stands to get a tactical view of the game, but Kompany was not satisfied.
“I don’t know why. I wouldn’t do that,” said the Belgian coach.
Danks was in charge of a match for the first time since making two interim appearances for Aston Villa in 2022, as Kompany was removed from “the playing field or near the team bench” as required by UEFA rules and was also banned from entering the dressing room.
Danks is Bayern’s set-piece specialist, but the team still managed to concede a simple headed goal from a corner kick when Joao Neves slotted past marker Jamal Musiala to put PSG at 2-1. Dayot Upamecano’s header from a free kick, Bayern’s third goal, was rather predictable.
Kompany, who was suspended for one match after picking up three yellow cards, is expected to return to the technical area for next Wednesday’s second leg and is hoping for an even more raucous atmosphere than the match itself. Defeated against Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
“We had such a passionate game against Madrid. We need more than that. That’s all I can ask for,” he said on Prime Video. “I would go to the stadium to watch a game like that, but I’m not going to be quiet.”
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Ellingworth reported from Dusseldorf, Germany.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
