Munich [Germany], October 28 : Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany was effusive about young sensation Lennart Karl. While lavishing praise on the 17-year-old, Kompany explained that his diminutive stature makes it hard for defenders to neutralise his threat.
Karl has made the headlines with his explosive performances for Bayern Munich. He joined the club as a promising 14-year-old talent in 2022. Last season, he made 26 appearances for Bayern's Under-17 and Under-19 outfits, scoring 32 goals and registering 10 assists.
After his impressive performances, Karl earned a place in Bayern's squad for the Club World Cup earlier this year and made his debut against Auckland City. He has continued to make strides since being promoted to the first team, with 10 appearances under his belt.
Karl became Bayern's youngest goal-scorer in Champions League history. He featured on the scoresheet during Bayern's 3-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach and became the club's third-youngest goal-scorer in Bundesliga history.
"Lennart Karl, as a young player, brought that magic with him: his relaxed attitude and his goals. That's all good for us. Shorter players often have a lot of power in their turns. It's tough for a defender to get close," Kompany said at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, as quoted from Goal.com.
"They don't need a lot of space to cause danger. The key thing is how quickly they can get a shot away. I don't know if it's about size, but Lenni is able to get shots away quickly. Every good player in the Champions League is able to shoot half a second quicker than the others. I believe that makes the difference, not body size," he added.
Bayern Munich icon Arjen Robben has been monitoring Karl's progress and believes the youngster deserves all the praise he has received.
"Lennart Karl deserves the praise he received; he was superb. The lad should also enjoy it. The most important thing at that age is to keep focusing on the next game. You have to work on yourself every day, and you can't think: I've played a great game now, everything's great," Robben told Bayern Munich's official website.
"You have to keep pushing yourself in training and not be satisfied with yourself. That's the difference in the really good players staying at the top for a long time. Getting to that point is one thing, but staying at the top is something else," he added.