Bayern Munich resumed the Bundesliga action after the November international break in an enthralling manner. They came back from a 2-0 deficit to clinch a 6-2 win against Freiburg on Saturday. Courtesy of the win, Bayern ensured they have a healthy lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Vincent Kompany made several changes to the starting XI that played against Union Berlin before the international break. With Serge Gnabry ruled out due to a knock, Kompany opted to start Lennart Karl over Nicolas Jackson in the attack.
The youngster repaid the faith shown by Kompany. Karl was exceptional in the attack for Bayern. He scored a fantastic goal to open the scoring for Die Roten and provided one assist later in the game. His link-up play with Olise in the attack was impressive. His crisp touches and runs in the final third created a lot of problems for Freiburg.
Karl has made a great impact on the first team this season, which will enhance his chances of getting more game time. While talking to Sky Sports in Germany (via Kerry Hau), Aleksandar Pavlovic insisted that he has never seen a young player with so much self-confidence.
"I've never seen a teammate with so much self-confidence at his age. He's an amazing player. It's so much fun playing with him. I have nothing but good things to say about him."Aleksandar Pavlovic on Lennart Karl
Karl not thinking about German call-up just yet
Lennart Karl has scored three goals and provided two assists in 429 minutes across 12 appearances for Bayern this season. His good performances at the club level have earned him a call-up to Germany’s U-21 squad during the last international break. Karl was on the scoresheet for the U-21 team.
Considering how quickly he is adapting to senior football at Bayern, there have been shouts for him to be in contention for a place in Germany’s World Cup squad. However, Karl told the media on Saturday that he is not focusing on the World Cup as he remains keen on doing his best with every chance he gets with the first team.
Lennart Karl on whether the World Cup is in the back of his mind: "I'm not focused on that at all. I'm just trying to perform, and then we'll see what Julian [Nagelsmann] does with me. I'm just trying to give everything here. Hopefully it works out, but if it doesn't, I just have… pic.twitter.com/ok4BrA5BVV
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) November 22, 2025
Karl certainly provides something different in the attack compared to other forwards in Julian Nagelsmann’s squad over the last few international breaks. However, it is too early to consider him for the World Cup squad.
Bayern will have to manage the game time of Karl, as they cannot burn him out every week. They also need to protect him since there are bound to be bad days for the youngster.
Kompany has done a fine job of getting the best out of Karl until now. The Bavarian faithful will hope to see him flourish for the first team without putting the burden of expectations on him. The current squad also has a very good set of senior forwards in form, which will certainly aid Karl’s development.