Vincent Kompany insisted Bayern Munich were not assured of a place in the Champions League quarter-finals despite beating Atalanta 6-1 in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.
Kompany watched his team run rampant at the New Balance Arena on Tuesday, with Michael Olise starring for the Bundesliga champions with two goals and an assist in the match.
Josip Stanisic, Olise and Serge Gnabry had Bayern in control at the break, before Nicolas Jackson continued to score just seven minutes after the restart in Bergamo.
Bayern scored six goals in the 67th minute and Olise’s second was followed by a good shot from Jamal Musiala, although Mario Pasalic scored the consolation for the hosts in the 93rd minute.
With this result, Bayern scored at least six goals in a European round of 16 match away from home for the second time in history, after beating Legia Warsaw 7-3 in the first round of the UEFA Cup in October 1988.
Kompany’s side recorded a total expected goals (xG) of 4.6 from their 25 shots, with their total non-penalty xG of 2.97 in the first half being the highest since 3.15 against Basel in March 2012, although the Bayern boss urged his players to remain focused ahead of the second leg.
“There is still the second leg, so we have to stay focused. The key tonight was finding the right approach for the game,” Kompany told reporters.
“Our man-to-man coverage was very important tactically and increasing the pressure helped us a lot.
“It is not the first time we have faced a team like Atalanta, who likes to attack, so playing against this type of football was not a surprise for us.”
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