Kompany hails Diaz’s ‘chaotic creativity’ in last-gasp victory over St. Pauli

Vincent Kompany praised Luis Diaz’s “chaotic creativity” as the Colombian inspired Bayern Munich to a 3-1 comeback victory over St. Pauli at the Allianz Arena.

Andreas Hountondji gave the visitors a surprise lead after just six minutes, but Bayern drew level on the stroke of half-time, courtesy of a superb pass from Diaz into the path of Raphael Guerreiro.

Bayern continued to threaten after the break and struck the woodwork three times before Diaz added to his assist with a goal, turning in Joshua Kimmich’s pass before Nicolas Jackson sealed the points with a rapid finish.

Reflecting on his side’s performance, Kompany highlighted just how decisive Diaz was.

“Lucho [Diaz] has got a kind of ‘chaotic creativity,’” Kompany said. “He can always do something in chaos.

“As a defender, I always found it uncomfortable to play against such players because you never know whether you have the ball under control or he has it.

“He kept his head up while on the ground and played a great pass. He did the exact same move in training yesterday. That’s a quality of his.”

Indeed, Diaz earned his manager’s heavy praise with an impactful performance. He scored off his only shot on target, created one big chance, and had 11 touches in St. Pauli’s box, finishing with a joint match-high expected goals (xG) value of 0.51.

Kompany also addressed concerns following Bayern’s midweek Champions League defeat to Arsenal, which snapped their 18-match winning start to the season.

“I think that's just part of football. Last week we won 6–2, before that we won against PSG,” the Belgian added.

 “I understand the question because we lost against Arsenal and it wasn’t easy today. But as I said, it’s part of football.”

The win over St. Pauli also saw Bayern score multiple goals for the 20th consecutive Bundesliga match, equalling the competition record that they themselves set in 2013-14 under Pep Guardiola.

And Kompany was keen to celebrate his side’s spirit and resilience to come from behind.

“At the end of the day, we distanced Leipzig by another two points, and that’s important,” he continued. “I don’t think it’s anything surprising. We also have to appreciate wins like today’s.

“Such hard-fought wins are part of a season. That gives us confidence in the future that we can win in these situations.

“Compliments to the boys that they kept going and believed in themselves. We need that over the course of the season.”