'Outstanding' Bayern must stay focused for 2nd leg, Kompany warns

Vincent Kompany insisted that Bayern Munich were not assured of a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals despite beating Atalanta 6-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie. 

Kompany watched on as his team ran riot at New Balance Arena on Tuesday, with Michael Olise starring for the Bundesliga champions with two goals and one assist in the match. 

Josip Stanisic, Olise and Serge Gnabry had Bayern in control at half-time, before Nicolas Jackson continued the scoring just seven minutes after the restart in Bergamo. 

Bayern hit six by the 67th minute as Olise's second was followed up by Jamal Musiala's well-taken finish, though Mario Pasalic did net a 93rd-minute consolation for the hosts.

The result saw Bayern net at least six goals in an away European knockout round match for just the second time in history, after beating Legia Warsaw 7-3 in the UEFA Cup First Round in October 1988.

Kompany's side registered an expected goals (xG) total of 4.6 from their 25 shots, with their non-penalty xG total of 2.97 in the first half being their biggest since their 3.15 vs Basel in March 2012, though the Bayern boss urged his players to remain focused ahead of the return leg. 

"There is still the second leg to play, so we have to stay focused. The key tonight was finding the right approach to the game," Kompany told reporters. 

"Our man-to-man coverage was very important tactically, and raising the pressing helped us a lot.

"It's not the first time we have faced a team like Atalanta that likes to attack, so playing against this kind of football was not a surprise for us."

Bayern's victory was also their 10th in major European competition away from home against sides from Italy, their most wins against sides from any nation.

They have also now won their 26th Champions League match at the round-of-16 stage in competition history, the most of any side ahead of Barcelona (24).

For Stanisic, meanwhile, his opener, timed at 11:21, was Bayern's earliest goal in an away knockout round match in the Champions League since Robert Lewandowski struck after 8:47 versus Lazio in the round of 16 during the 2020-21 campaign.

And the midfielder lauded his team-mates for their display against Raffaele Palladino's side. 

"It's almost impossible to do much better. Ideally, we would've kept a clean sheet, but it's a top result and a top performance," Pavlovic said.

"We were simply there from the very beginning. We knew what to expect, and we handled the game superbly.

"Going forward and defensively, we did almost everything outstanding. I think that's why the result is so clear."