Joshua Kimmich says Bayern Munich “got lucky” against Lokomotiv Moscow

Joshua Kimmich’s fantastic half-volley goal secured a 2-1 win for Bayern Munich over Lokomotiv Moscow in Champions League action yesterday, but the 25-year-old know that the Bavarians were fortunate to leave Russia with a victory.

“I thought Lokomotiv had a great game,’ Kimmich said to pool reporters after the game (as captured by The Daily Mail). “They were good in transition and attacking with some fast players. It was not easy in the second half, but in the end we were lucky to come out with the win. [It was] a really hard-fought victory. We didn’t play badly, but we should have finished it off earlier. We scored quite early on, almost from nothing, but didn’t really have a clear chance to get the second, especially after the break.”

Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images

Kimmich recognized a dip in Bayern Munich’s play after halftime and acknowledged that Lokomotiv Moscow’s counterattacks presented a huge problem for the Bavarians.

“They had some dangerous counters, but in the end we are happy to win despite not being at our best,” Kimmich said.

Regarding his game-winning goal, Kimmich stated that an effort like that was actually years in the making. As a youth player, Kimmich recognized that he did not have the most powerful shot, but continued to work on it.

“It’s something I’d been working on,” Kimmich said. “It wasn’t really my forte as a youth as I was lacking a bit of shooting power, but lately it’s been working quite well.”

More, Kimmich lamented not having scored in the 57th minute when he could not find a way to squeeze a sitter into the net (per Sport Bild). Still, Kimmich was appreciate that his teammates gave him the chance to make-up for that gaffe.

“I definitely owed it to the team,” Kimmich said. “There were, I think, about three meters. I saw the ball flying towards me and thought, you have to get it now, otherwise you’re the idiot here. In the end, I was the idiot. Luckily I was able to make up for it afterwards.”

Overall, Kimmich acknowledged that it was good to leave Russia with a victory, but the game did remind him of Bayern Munich’s loss to Hoffenheim earlier this season.

”The way that our opponent got clear scoring chances with simple means and long balls reminded me a bit of Hoffenheim,” Kimmich said. “That shouldn’t happen to us that frequently at this level.”