Harry Kane strikes late as Bayern Munich survive Elversberg scare
Bayern Munich edged past a spirited Elversberg in an entertaining clash, with Harry Kane scoring a late winner after Maurice Krattenmacher's stunning strike had cancelled out Lennart Karl's opener.
Elversberg 1-2 Bayern Munich
Goals: 0-1 Karl 26’ (assist: Saibari), 1-1 Krattenmacher 61’ (assist: Darvich), 1-2 Kane 72’ (assist: Pavlović)
This was the first-ever Bundesliga meeting between the two sides, with newly-promoted Elversberg having won their opening two top-flight matches.
Vincent Wagner named an unchanged starting eleven for the third game running, while Vincent Kompany rotated heavily, with only Dayot Upamecano, Aleksandar Pavlović, Michael Olise and Kane retaining their places from the midweek UEFA Champions League win over Bodø/Glimt. Jonas Urbig started in goal for Bayern for the first time this season.
Karl breaks deadlock
Bayern dominated the opening stages, as Kane, Karl and Tom Bischof all went close, while Elversberg looked lively on the break through Cole Campbell and early substitute Noah Darvich. In the 26th minute, Ismael Saibari drove into the box and sent in an inviting low cross, and Karl arrived at the far post to slot home from close range for the opening goal.
Elversberg subsequently thought they had equalised through Campbell moments before the break, but the goal was ruled out for offside against Darvich in the build-up after a lengthy VAR review.
Krattenmacher's stunner levels score
Elversberg made one change at the interval, bringing on Krattenmacher for Campbell, and the hosts pressed high after the restart.
Their increased efforts paid off in the 61st minute as Krattenmacher, a former Bayern youth player, received the ball in space outside the box and curled a superb strike into the top corner to make it 1-1, sending the home crowd absolutely wild.
Kane restores Bayern lead
Kompany reacted with a flurry of substitutions, sending on Jamal Musiala, Luis Díaz, Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich. Olise struck the crossbar from distance, and then saw Maximilian Rohr block his goal-bound effort, before Bayern finally broke through in the 72nd minute.
Musiala combined with Olise, who found Pavlović, and the midfielder slipped a short pass into Kane, who finished well from inside the box to put his side ahead again.
Elversberg pushed hard for a second equaliser through Krattenmacher and fellow substitute Noel Futkeu. Łukasz Poręba made a crucial block to deny Kane a second at the other end, but there would be no further additions to the scoreboard.
Man of the Match: Harry Kane
Kane struck the decisive goal in the 72nd minute, finishing off a slick move involving Musiala, Olise and Pavlović to give Bayern the winner.
The England striker also tested Kristof with a header from a corner and, as usual, remained a constant threat throughout, ultimately earning 37 percent of the Man of the Match vote.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Elversberg 0.65 - Bayern Munich 3.67
Fastest player: Lasse Günther (Elversberg), 35.2 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-1 by Maurice Krattenmacher (Elversberg), 7 percent
Most pressed player: Aleksandar Pavlović (Bayern Munich), 10 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Aleksandar Pavlović (Bayern Munich), +4.19
Fantasy Heroes: Michael Olise (Bayern Munich, 289 Points), Aleksandar Pavlović (Bayern Munich, 268 Points), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, 261 Points)
