Olise sent off, Bayern draws 3-3 with Viking FK

Michael Olise precipitated Bayern Munich’s collapse on Tuesday night in the Ligue des Champions: sent off in the 75th minute for a gesture of frustration, the Frenchman left his team down to ten against Viking FK, who snatched an equalizer in the dying minutes for a final score of 3-3.

Already cautioned for a shirt pull, Olise kicked the ball directly at an opponent’s head during a melee. The second yellow card was immediate. Bayern, who had overturned a two-goal deficit at half-time, ultimately gave way in extra time to the Norwegians.

In his post-match press conference, Vincent Kompany made no attempt to downplay his player’s responsibility. “It’s 100% his fault. He’s aware of it,” the Belgian manager said bluntly. “You can’t claim to deserve to win the match when you make individual decisions like that.”

Kompany nevertheless chose pedagogy over verbal sanction. “He knows he made a mistake. You can see he’s sorry and regrets letting the team down. It’s absolutely not serious: these things happen. But it’s these moments that can have a decisive impact on a season.”

The manager pointed to the former Crystal Palace player’s lack of composure in the face of opposing provocation: “I told him the opponent was smarter than him. When you’re clearly better, you sometimes just have to play your game rather than let yourself be drawn into unnecessary situations.” Kompany nevertheless refused to treat it as a mitigating circumstance: “Michael is a player who will always be provoked by his opponents, but that’s not an excuse.”

Beyond the two points lost, the sending-off has immediate consequences for the rest of the competition: suspended, Olise will miss Bayern’s third league phase match against Arsenal.