Already impressive since the start of the season at Bayern Munich, Lennart Karl struck again very hard this Tuesday evening in the Champions League against Sporting Portugal (3-1). Indeed, the Bayern nugget scored a sublime goal against Sporting Portugal to give the Munich advantage in the 69th minute. Served by Laimer, he managed to control the ball despite the pressure from the Lisbon defense, before continuing with a powerful strike which lodged under the bar of Rui Costa. With this new achievement, Karl became the youngest player in history to score in three consecutive matches in C1, at just 17 years, 9 months and 16 days old. He had already found the net against Club Brugge in October (4-0) then against Arsenal at the end of November (defeat, 3-1). Released in the 77th minute to ovations at the Allianz Arena, the young attacking midfielder confirms that he is already one of the most promising faces in German football and that, despite his age, he can also weigh in the most demanding European matches.
Indeed, revelation at the start of the Bayern season, Lennart Karl is already establishing himself as the new sensation of the Bavarian club, like Jamal Musiala (22 years old) in his debut or Lamine Yamal (18 years old) at Barça. The young left-hander from the training center impresses with his technical ease, his maturity and his ability to be decisive. Already the author of five goals and two assists in all competitions this season, he magnificently and temporarily compensates for the prolonged absence of Jamal Musiala and attracts the attention of all of Germany. His connection with Michael Olise on the right lane of the Munich attack is already very promising, and his vision of the game, his height (1.68 m) combined with his speed and his confusing dribbling, make him a player capable of changing a match single-handedly, like against Freiburg where he had an assist and a goal. Some followers of the native of Frammersbach do not hesitate to compare him to… Lionel Messi, even if his coach Vicent Kompany prefers to remain measured: “Lenny is Lenny. We’re going to make him the best version of Lennart Karl. It’s important that he takes advantage of this period and progresses like a normal young man. »
Vincent Kompany calms things down
But Karl’s rise does not stop there. He arrived in Bavaria in 2022 from Aschaffenburg, and he shattered the scorers in the youth teams with 34 goals and 11 assists in 31 matches in all competitions. He took his first steps in the first team during the Club World Cup last summer, playing 45 minutes in the massacre against Auckland (10-0), before scoring in his first start in the Champions League against Club Brugge, opening the scoring in the 5th minute and scoring a second goal with a nice curling shot under the bar. Furthermore, Lennart Karl also became the youngest scorer in the history of Bayern Munich in C1, confirming all the potential glimpsed during his youth and pre-season stints, where he had already scored several goals and delivered assists against OL, Tottenham and Grasshopper Zurich.
Despite this media hype, Bayern and Vincent Kompany remain cautious and insist on the progress of their player. “Lennart Karl is still extremely dangerous”recalled the Bavarian coach after the match against Sporting in a press conference. Even Arjen Robben, club legend, congratulates him while warning him: “Lennart Karl deserves all the praise, he was superb. He must benefit from it too. But you have to persevere in training and not rest on your laurels. Getting to this point is one thing, but staying there is another. » Karl, for his part, was ambitious, but lucid at the start of the season: “I feel good in the team. The guys welcome me perfectly. I can show my strengths and work on my weaknesses. I’m working very hard and I hope it works. » With already 19 appearances (including 9 as a starter) this season and direct involvement in seven goals, Lennart Karl has established himself as one of the most promising young stars of Bayern and, more broadly, of Europe. If he continues like this, he could even be part of the adventure with the Mannschaft for the 2026 World Cup.
