The Bayern star was caught kicking out at the England youngster but claims he did not deserve to be booked for his actions
Bayern Munich‘s Joshua Kimmich was not taking any of the blame for his stamp on Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, which left the England youngster in a bandage.
Kimmich was caught with the bottom of his boot on Sancho’s outstretched ankle and foot as the two players went for a ball that ran out of play.
Just six minutes after Sancho had put the match to bed with a brilliant second goal for his club, doubling their lead as Dortmund went on to win the DFL-Supercup 2-0, Kimmich stepped on his opponent’s leg as the two clashed near the touchline, with the Bayern man booked for the challenge after the fact.
While the booking really should not have come as a shock, Kimmich says he was upset at picking up the card in what he felt was as much Sacho’s fault as his own.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Kimmich told DAZN . “I wanted to get the ball and he put his foot in.
“But I did not kick him and I was angry that I was given a yellow card, because that was not my intention. ”
Kimmich went on to say that had he been sent off for his action it might have caused an on-field meltdown.
“If I had seen red, then I would have romped,” he told reporters following the match.
While Kimmich’s tackle brought about plenty of critics, his manager, who says he did not see the play, vouched for the 24-year-old’s character.
“Joshua did not do this on purpose,” he told ZDF .
Sancho is looking to kick on from a breakout campaign with Dortmund last season, and his heroics in the Supercup will do nothing to temper expectations on the youngster.
And while the stamp from Kimmich was a low-point in the clash between the top two sides in Germany, Dortmund team-mate Marco Reus was not shocked to see Sancho put the Bundesliga champions under pressure with his performance.
“When Jadon approaches you in one-on-one, it’s brutally difficult (for the defender),” he told reporters.
Dortmund let slip a massive lead in the Bundesliga last season and watched as Bayern lifted the league trophy once again, topping their rivals by just two points.
The two sides look set to be among the league leaders again this season, with Bundesliga leading scorer Robert Lewandowski back with Bayern and both runner up Paco Alcacer and the league’s third-leading scorer Reus in the fold for Dortmund along with the promising Sancho.
Be the first to comment