"He was a bit nervous": Kompany defends Bayern youngster Karl | OneFootball

Lennart Karl couldn't fully convince in his starting eleven debut for FC Bayern. However, coach Vincent Kompany defended him after the game.

In FC Bayern's 3-2 victory against Wehen Wiesbaden, Lennart Karl was allowed to start for the first time for the German record champion. However, his performance against the third-division team wasn't really satisfying. Especially in the first half, the 17-year-old had some difficulties finding his footing.

His coach Vincent Kompany defended him at the press conference after the cup match: "In the first 10 minutes, he lost the ball 3, 4, 5 times, he was probably a bit nervous. Then he got better into the game. In the second half, he was in his best phase. We remain calm with him. For me, he can't do anything wrong at the moment," explained the Belgian.

Karl indeed had his best action in the second half. After the youngster initiated a dribble towards the penalty area, the ball found its way to Michael Olise, who was then able to score the temporary 2-0.

"No Pressure" for Bayern Youngster Karl

Kompany also emphasized that Karl doesn't need to put pressure on himself despite the not entirely convincing performance against Wiesbaden. "The pressure and expectations are not on him, but on the experienced players. The young players should simply show what they can do and demonstrate that they can help us, now or in the future. Lenny is doing that at the moment with his talent and his work. There is no pressure on him," the Bayern coach made clear.

Karl has definitely shown that he has what it takes to establish himself at FCB in the long term, especially during the pre-season. In the Telekom Cup, he scored a real dream goal against Tottenham Hotspur, his first for the Munich team. Against Grasshoppers Zurich, he also showed what he's capable of, contributing a goal and an assist. At 17 years old, he still has plenty of time to develop further.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.