Vincent Kompany’s ‘best level’ admission when reflecting on Burnley defeat to Newcastle United

Vincent Kompany claims his Burnley side “were competitive” against Newcastle United - despite suffering two pre-season drubbings. Two line-ups from each club faced off in a behind closed doors training session, with both sides switching to take on the other at half-time.

Newcastle ran away as 6-1 and 3-1 winners in Portugal ahead of their clash against Benfica on Tuesday. Miguel Almiron continued his pre-season purple patch by scoring in both games.

Despite the two defeats, Kompany - who took charge of the Clarets last month - preferred to outline the positives. The Manchester City legend suggested the depth of Newcastle’s squad allows them to compete at “the best level” in the Premier League.

“So long as there are no injuries, I think our running was good," Kompany said post-match. "And we were competitive, so there wasn’t much in the game(s).

“But you can see, you play against two squads of very competitive players, which is Newcastle. We just looked to give it a game. You play against Newcastle, we know they have got a big squad, a lot of players.

"It is a good way to compare ourselves to the best level.”