Bayern not planning to go easy on Heidenheim
Vincent Kompany insisted Bayern Munich would not be handing out any gifts to relegation battler Heidenheim as the visitor fights for its Bundesliga survival this weekend.
Bayern has already wrapped up the Bundesliga title, its 35th top-flight crown in club history, with one eye on the second leg of its UEFA Champions League semi-final next week.
Kompany's side played out an enthralling nine-goal thriller against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes, with Luis Enrique's side emerging as the 5-4 victor in the match.
The Bayern boss made wholesale changes ahead of the first leg in its league clash with Mainz, and he was forced to use his bench to help it come from three goals down.
Heidenheim and Bayern are separated by 60 points in the Bundesliga, but Frank Schmidt's side has begun to rally at the bottom to keep its faint survival hopes alive.
After 15 games without a win, victories over Union Berlin and St Pauli have given Heidenheim some confidence, but Kompany said his team would be at its best from minute one.
"It's also a good thing [to have the title sewn up] because it means we've done our job, but we don't want to give anyone any gifts," Kompany said.
"We're doing our best to win. We showed that in the last game against Mainz. We showed with our mentality that we're doing everything to be ready.
"The game against PSG was obviously very intense, and the anticipation for the second leg is very high in all of Munich, but my job is to keep the focus on Heidenheim, which I'm trying to do every day."
Kompany himself is no stranger to a relegation battle, having overseen Burnley's demotion to the EFL Championship in 2023-2024 before taking over from Thomas Tuchel at Bayern.
"Heidenheim has won two of its past three games," Kompany said.
"I spent a year in a relegation battle, and I find it incredible how they've hauled themselves back into a fight that appeared to be lost. A relegation battle is mentally very tough – great respect for them."
The Bayern boss was on hand to speak about the defeat to PSG.
"I don't always see everything black or white. For me, what happened in Paris is logical. Of course, I'd like to keep a clean sheet. That's always our aim," Kompany added.
"At Leverkusen, we did that brilliantly. If you analyse logically what happened in the match, it was to be expected. In the end, we just want to win and use the means we have.
"It makes sense. The only thing is to have the belief you can win that way. We don’t want to lose, and that’s what makes us strong."
Heidenheim manager Schmidt, meanwhile, admitted it would need to be a perfect storm for his players to upset the division's dominant force.
"You can't get much bigger than us as underdogs," Schmidt said. "It's remarkable that we're now playing Bayern for points in the Bundesliga between these two [UEFA] Champions League matches.
"Ultimately, we'll try to believe that something is possible on a perfect day. I think that's the basic requirement: to believe in it and have the courage to even get a chance.
"What's certain is that we have to perform at our absolute best in every area. And even that probably won't be enough – we also need that necessary bit of luck in crucial situations."
