Jürgen Klopp, the Germany national team coach, used his half-time television analysis of Bayern Munich's Champions League match against Arsenal on Wednesday to question how the Bundesliga side defends, according to BILD. Speaking on DAZN from the honorary tribune at the Allianz Arena, Klopp said he still had not fully grasped what Bayern do without the ball. When BILD raised the remarks with Vincent Kompany at the post-match press conference, the Bayern coach gave a terse reply and moved on.
Klopp, 59, was asked by presenter Daniel Herzog how he watches games in his new role. He said everything about the game interests him, then raised the Bayern defence unprompted. According to BILD, he described the team's approach as sometimes hybrid, sometimes man-oriented and sometimes not, adding that he remains a learner.
Why it matters
It is unusual for a sitting national team coach to assess a club coach's tactics so openly on television. BILD notes that Klopp's predecessors — Julian Nagelsmann, Hansi Flick and Jogi Löw — did not comment on club tactics in this manner. The remarks also landed on a night when Bayern's defensive organisation was visibly tested, and they drew a response from the club's sporting leadership as well as from the coach.
Klopp's points on the equaliser and on Kane
Klopp tied his general observation to Arsenal's opening goal. Eberechi Eze scored in the 25th minute after a long ball from the centre circle by Martin Ödegaard. Konrad Laimer could not catch Eze, and Josip Stanisic played him onside. Klopp questioned why no pressure was applied to the ball in that situation, per BILD.
He then turned to Harry Kane's positioning. Herzog had noted that Kane seemed to be everywhere, and Klopp agreed that this was fine in possession but raised doubts about it out of possession. He said seeing Kane in the last line — not in a deep block but in midfield pressing — was something he struggled with, and repeated that he does not claim to be an authority on football and that teams are free to play as they wish. BILD interpreted the comments as criticism of where Kane was deployed.
Kane, who scored Bayern's second goal from the penalty spot in the 61st minute and was involved in the build-up to the equaliser finished by Alphonso Davies in the 35th, partly agreed with the assessment. Speaking in the catacombs of the Allianz Arena after the final whistle, he said Arsenal's running made marking assignments difficult, that Bayern lost track of who should pick up whom, particularly in the second half, and that the team struggled to play out and start attacks. He called it something he and the side can work on.
Kompany's short answer and Eberl's defence
Asked about Klopp's television comments, Kompany said he had nothing to add and asked for the next question, according to BILD. The Belgian's reluctance to open a public discussion of his tactics was evident in the brevity of the response.
Sporting director Max Eberl pushed back on the criticism. He said he did not consider the move that led to the 1-1 poor, praising the pass played out of deep space, and stressed that the coach thinks hard about how to beat Arsenal, a side he described as very flexible and rotating, with many positional changes. Eberl conceded that Kane should not end up appearing as a sweeper, but argued it can happen, and that in the past Bayern have benefited when Kane drops into that space to play such balls and the pace of Davies or Ismael Saibari turns them into chances.
The draw leaves Bayern with a point from the Arsenal fixture. What to watch next is whether Kompany adjusts Kane's defensive role in the coming matches, and whether Klopp's television commentary becomes a recurring feature of his national team tenure.
