Bayern got back into the win column and Kimmich gave a lot of credit to the club’s sense of unity.
Bayern Munich got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena thanks to a brace from Robert Lewandowski and a goal from James Rodriguez. The win for Bayern could not have come at a better time, as the three points snapped a four-match winless streak across competitions that put manager Niko Kovac under the proverbial microscope.
It’d be difficult to pick out a player involved in the win against Wolfsburg who didn’t have a strong outing or, at the very least, put forth his best effort. Joshua Kimmich was one of a handful of players who enjoyed a good performance and after the match, he spoke (via FCBayern.com) about how much the club’s sense of togetherness during their difficult stretch helped them persevere at the Volkswagen Arena:
I think it’s a fantastic sign that the club stands up for the players and protects them. It boosts our sense of togetherness. I think it was good for us to say, we won’t let anybody get to us, we’ll stick together and protect one another.
Kovac also gave his two cents after the match and credited his team for delivering under immense pressure, given their poor run of form before the international break:
All credit to the team. We were under a lot of pressure. We wanted everybody to focus, work hard and stand up for the club for 90 minutes. The team did it outstandingly well. The victory is completely deserved, even by this scoreline.
The win for Bayern came just over 24 hours after Uli Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and Hasan Salihamidzic gave a press conference to address the criticism the club and certain players have been receiving from a number of media outlets. The three made it clear that such criticism of their players will not be tolerated and they even went as far as saying that legal action could be taken against the press for false stories. Reactions to the press conference were mixed, but it’s clear that it may have helped cement a sense of unity and togetherness among the squad and coaching staff.