Vincent Kompany surprised everyone with an unusual personnel decision in the clear away win in Stuttgart: Jonas Urbig started in goal instead of Manuel Neuer. The Bayern coach explained his reasons in detail before the game.
In FC Bayern’s 5-0 win at VfB Stuttgart, Kompany surprisingly opted not to use the long-standing number one in the Bayern goal. Manuel Neuer initially took his place on the bench, while 22-year-old Jonas Urbig stood between the posts. The coach explained to DAZN before the game how this move came about.
„We have three games in six days, so we want to use the squad. Jonas has never disappointed so far and has always helped us. We always look for the right moment so that he gets his minutes and can continue his development. We also discussed this with Manu and decided to do it today rather than next week. After that, everything goes back to normal,“ said Kompany.
In addition to the goalkeeper position, the coach made a further five changes compared to the cup win at Union Berlin, with Minjae Kim, Raphael Guerreiro, Leon Goretzka and Tom Bischof among the new starters. Nicolas Jackson was also given a start, while Harry Kane, like Neuer, was left out for the time being.
Urbig remains flawless – Kane excels
The early lead by Konrad Laimer put FC Bayern in a good position, but Stuttgart were unimpressed. A header by Nartey was disallowed for offside and Chema missed a great chance to equalize shortly before the break.
The game remained open after the break, but it was only when Harry Kane came on that the game took a clear direction. The Englishman scored with a powerful low shot to make it 2-0 and later added two more goals with a penalty and after strong work from Olise. In between, Stanisic made it 3-0.
Jonas Urbig made the most of his chance in the Bayern goal and kept a clean sheet. The 22-year-old looked confident, calm and justified his coach’s trust in him.
The only downer: Luis Díaz picked up his fifth yellow card and will therefore miss the upcoming Bundesliga match against Mainz. FC Bayern will continue their Champions League campaign on Tuesday – against Sporting Lisbon and probably with Manuel Neuer in goal again.