Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany and RB Leipzig counterpart Marco Rose struggled to discuss Bayern’s 5-1 victory on Friday and a planned Christmas ceremony at the Allianz Arena was cut short after a vehicle was driven into crowds at a market in the northeastern German city of Magdeburg.
Authorities described the incident as a deliberate attack. It occurred approximately one hour before the start of the Bundesliga match, leaving at least two people dead and 60 others injured.
“It’s almost impossible to talk about football tonight. Right now the people in Magdeburg are in our thoughts,” Kompany said.
“Hopefully, at some point there will be peace, not only in Germany but everywhere. We won today, but I hope next year there will be more wins for peace.”
The two people confirmed dead were an adult and a toddler, but officials said additional deaths couldn’t be ruled out because 15 people had been seriously injured.
“I’ve heard the news from Magdeburg, it makes all things appear in a different light,” Rose said.
“Yes, we played football. Yes, we lost clearly and deservedly. Benjamin Henrichs may have a serious ankle injury, but a few other things happened today that aren’t nice.”
The Christmas ceremony that Bayern had originally planned to be held after the Leipzig match was canceled.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen asked fans at the Allianz Arena to observe a minute of silence to honor the Magdeburg victims.
“We had completely different ideas about me standing here,” Dreesen told the players and fans.
“We learned about the events in Magdeburg during the match. That’s why we decided to abandon the Christmas ceremony. I would like to ask you to remember the relatives.”
On the pitch, the game had an extraordinary start when Jamal Musiala put Bayern ahead after 28 seconds, only for Benjamin Sesco to equalise just over a minute later.
Bayern, however, dominated after that, leading 3-1 at halftime through Konrad Laimar and Joshua Kimmich, before Leroy Sané and Alphonso Davies completed the rout to send them seven points clear at the top of the table.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
