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Vincent Kompany impressed by Lennart Karl’s first Bayern Munich start
In Vincent Kompany’s inaugural season as the manager at Bayern Munich, the first two rounds of the DFB-Pokal could not have gone smoother.
Bayern coasted to a pair of 4-0 wins and all was well in the world. The last two games have induced a new level of stress for Bayern fans.
In last year’s third round, Bayern was eliminated in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of rival Bayer Leverkusen after Manuel Neuer was marched off the pitch after his first career red card.
In this year’s first round, Bayern blew a 2-0 lead against third division side, SV Wehen Wiesbaden, before a stoppage time goal from Harry Kane pushed the Bavarians through to the second round.
One of the quieter storylines on the evening was the first professional start for 17-year old Lennart Karl. Karl played 67 minutes before being replaced by Serge Gnabry.”In the first 10 minutes, [Karl] lost the ball three, four, five times, he probably was a bit nervous,” said Kompany (via @iMiaSanMia).
“Then he got better into the game. In the second half he was at his best phase. We’re staying calm with him. For me he can’t do anything wrong at the moment — the pressure and expectations are not on him, they are on the experienced players.
The young players should just show what they can do and show that they can help us, now or in the future. Lenny is doing that at the moment with his talent and his work. No pressure on him.”
On 61 total touches, Karl lost possession 13 times but also won 5 out of 9 ground duels and went 4-for-4 on long balls. It wasn’t a perfect performance from the youngster but another building block on the road to a bright future.
Bayern Munich traveled to Frankfurt to take on SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB-Pokal.The home side was game and did give Bayern Munich a battle.
Sure, the Bavarians were deeper, quicker, stronger, and better, but the 3.Liga side was not going to go down easy in what was an entertaining match. Bayern Munich ultimately won 3-2.