Harry Kane (right) celebrates, Aleksandar Pavlovic celebrates with him. © ANSA / RONALD WITTEK

A lackluster FC Bayern wins with difficulty in Elversberg

Industry leader Bayern Munich narrowly avoided a humiliating defeat against sensational newcomer SV Elversberg.

September 13, 2026

From: dpa

The record champions eked out a hard-fought 2-1 (1-0) victory to conclude the third matchday of the Bundesliga. In front of 9.307 spectators, Lennart Karl put Munich ahead in the 26th minute, a lead that Maurice Krattenmacher equalized after the break (61st minute). Harry Kane then secured the win for Bayern in the 72nd minute, lifting them to fourth place in the table with seven points.

For the match against Elversberg, Kompany made seven changes to his starting eleven compared to the 5-0 Champions League victory against Bodø/Glimt. Among others, veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, and Luis Diaz started on the bench. Wagner, on the other hand, opted for the same starting lineup as in the win in Mönchengladbach and his tried-and-tested tactics.

sluggish record champion

Just five minutes in, the home side suffered their first scare. Francis Onyeka was injured in a foul on Ismael Saibari and was unable to continue. He was replaced by Noah Darvich. After about a quarter of an hour, the underdogs ventured out of their defensive shell for the first time – and immediately created the first chance of the game. A dangerous cross from Lukas Petkov was deflected into the side netting of his own goal by Bayern defender Minjae Kim.

Lennart Karl signals: "I scored." © ANSA / RONALD WITTEK

It took until the 20th minute before Munich finally registered their first shot on goal. Karl's effort from about 18 meters was too central, however, so SVE goalkeeper Nicolas Kristof had no trouble saving it. Overall, the favorites were playing very sluggishly. As so often happens, though, a moment of brilliance was all Munich needed to take the lead. Saibari surged down the left flank and crossed the ball across the penalty area to Karl, who finished from close range. A real blow for the newly promoted side, who had just begun to shake off their initial hesitancy.

Krattenmacher's dream goal is not enough

Just before halftime, Cole Campbell's apparent equalizer sparked jubilation, but the celebrations were quickly cut short. After a lengthy VAR review, the goal was disallowed due to a prior offside position.

Maurice Krattenmacher scored the equalizer to make it 1-1. © APA/afp / ANDREAS SCHLICHTER

After the break, Krattenmacher made his mark. The 21-year-old, who had moved from Bayern Munich to Elversberg in the summer, scored the equalizer with a stunning shot into the top corner. Kompany reacted immediately by bringing on Kimmich, Musiala, and Diaz. Elversberg had no answer to the onslaught of Bayern's attacking prowess. Harry Kane scored the winning goal for Bayern, his first of the season in his third appearance.

1nd Bundesliga, 3st matchday

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