Despite a heavy loss to Barcelona, Bayern Munich’s chief, Max Eberl, has reaffirmed the club’s trust in manager and former Manchester City hero, Vincent Kompany.

The Bundesliga side, typically dominant in the group stages of European competition, were handed a harsh lesson by the Catalan giants, now led by their former manager, Hansi Flick. Barcelona netted four times against a stunned Bayern.

This was Kompany’s second defeat in three European matches as manager, putting the club under pressure in the competition. The Belgian’s appointment received mixed reactions from Bayern supporters, many of whom were still upset over the departure of Thomas Tuchel, now England manager.

However, Bayern's leadership remains firm in their support for Kompany and insist they have no intention of changing course following the setback. Despite this challenge, Bayern continue to lead the Bundesliga.

Max Eberl, the club's sporting director, stated: "We believe in the path we are taking and we will continue to defend our approach." Raphinha opened the scoring within a minute for Barcelona, later securing a hat-trick.

Harry Kane managed an equaliser for Bayern, but former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski also found the net for Barcelona. This performance led to claims that Kompany’s side were too defensively vulnerable, a suggestion the Belgian manager rejected.

Kompany emphasised that his team had previously been praised for their defensive solidity, which faltered in this match. He explained: "I think both teams made defensive errors today. If we recall the press conference yesterday, it was highlighted that we are the team that has conceded the fewest chances in Europe.

"We didn’t get everything right today, otherwise we wouldn’t have lost 4-1. We must learn from this game and identify areas where we can improve, and that is exactly what we will do."