Surprising backup option for Harry Kane and a hint of Lennart Karl vibes: what stood out in Bayern Munich’s friendly win against RB Leipzig
Bayern Munich won the penultimate friendly before their competitive opener against RB Leipzig 3-1. What stood out at the Telekom Cup 2026 on Saturday afternoon.
Among other things, Bayern Munich spent much of the summer being linked with a backup for centre-forward Harry Kane. With Ismael Saibari, they brought in a versatile attacking player who can also play up front, but sees himself primarily as a No 10.
There will reportedly be no more new signings at Säbener Straße before the transfer window shuts at the start of September, so a classic Kane backup is not planned. Bayern do not really need one anyway given their depth in attack, as Saturday's runout against Leipzig also showed.
With Kane only recently back from his World Cup holiday, coach Vincent Kompany surprisingly started academy graduate Arijon Ibrahimovic as the No 9. The 20-year-old, naturally a left winger or No 10, returned to Munich after a loan spell at Heidenheim that was certainly a success on a personal level and is now firmly in Bayern's first-team plans. At the start of July, Bayern extended Ibrahimovic's contract, and Kompany is said to have expressly pushed for him to stay.
The Germany Under-21 international will still be behind others in the pecking order given the strength of competition, but he is nevertheless said to have been assured of regular playing time. And that could clearly come not only in his main role as an alternative to Luis Diaz on the left wing or as a No 10, but also through the middle.
Bayern Munich: Arijon Ibrahimovic can also act as Harry Kane's backup
Against Leipzig, he did a decent job there. He had one or two unfortunate moments, but he also caught the eye here and there. In the 18th minute, for example, he held the ball up well and laid it off to Tom Bischof, who then slipped it through to Diaz. It could have been a good chance, but the Colombian was disrupted at the crucial moment just before getting his shot away.
Following the drinks break in the middle of the first half, Diaz briefly operated as the false nine and Ibrahimovic moved to the left. Only a few minutes later they switched back again. In the press, Ibrahimovic and Bischof, who had been deployed as a No 10, formed a front two and pressed Leipzig's defenders intensely together.
After a feeling-out period, which also included worried looks following Konrad Laimer's early injury-enforced substitution, Bayern took the lead in the 13th minute through Diaz in front of a very well-filled Allianz Arena. Attacking talent Tim Binder was crucial in the build-up.
Tim Binder provides a touch of Lennart Karl vibes in Bayern's friendly win
The 19-year-old, one of the winners of pre-season and already showing promising signs in the 2-1 friendly win against Aston Villa in Hong Kong, got the nod from the start on the right. Binder played without fear and full of self-belief, repeatedly and boldly took on his man, and at times caused problems for Germany international David Raum.
That was clear just before the opener. Binder drove directly at Raum, cut inside and, instead of shooting, looked for the pass to Diaz on the far side of the box. The ball did not get through, but Ridle Baku's attempted clearance struck a Leipzig team-mate and the ball broke for Diaz in curious fashion anyway. The 29-year-old, bursting with joy in his play throughout the first 45 minutes, accepted the gift ruthlessly and curled the ball unstoppably into the corner.
Binder kept impressing with clever touches, showed his dribbling strength and, after an hour, left Max Finkgräfe, who had come on for Raum, all over the place with an eye-catching piece of skill. "A little Karl copy," said former Bayern star Stefan Effenberg as co-commentator on MagentaTV about the Bayern youngster, who joined the record champions' academy from Augsburg at the age of 12.
His style of play was not the only thing that brought Lennart Karl to mind, the quality of the performance did too. It offered a hint of how Karl, who has since risen to become a full international, announced his strong season on a bigger stage at the Telekom Cup 2025. A good year ago, Karl had thrilled the Allianz Arena for the first time by scoring a fine goal as a substitute in the 4-0 friendly win against Tottenham Hotspur.
Binder did not produce anything quite so spectacular, but against Leipzig the Germany youth international again showed flashes that he certainly has what it takes to make an impact. It is apparently unclear, however, whether he sees his future at Bayern. According to FCBinside, Binder is attracting interest from two other Bundesliga clubs, as well as from Ligue 1 and Serie A. A loan is conceivable, but because of the unfavourable contract situation, his current deal runs until 2027, allegedly even a permanent sale.
Bayern talent Maycon Cardozo also shines against Leipzig
What may help Binder's chances of staying in Munich is that Kompany thinks highly of him. After the 2-1 win against Aston Villa, the Belgian credited the academy graduate with an "impressive performance." Kompany is famously keen to integrate talents from the club's own campus into the senior side as effectively as possible, and for the final 20 minutes he replaced Binder with 17-year-old livewire Maycon Cardozo. He also sent on another academy hope in Wisdom Mike, also 17.
Cardozo and Mike both offered more evidence of their potential once they came on. Cardozo did it with an outstanding dribble a quarter of an hour from time, beating two Leipzig players in eye-catching fashion before Vandevoordt parried his effort towards the near post. Mike produced a fine individual move of his own, including a shot from just under 20 metres that flew too high.
Another thing that stood out was the shift in momentum after the break. Bayern had dominated the first half, but Leipzig emerged strongly in the second and deservedly equalised in the 52nd minute through Brajan Gruda. Bayern responded well and quickly went back in front. New signing Nathaniel Brown coolly converted a dream pass from Aleksandar Pavlovic, albeit from a position that looked suspiciously offside, and nutmegged Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt for 2-1. It was Brown's first goal at the Allianz Arena, and Bayern fans celebrated their new left-back scoring in their living room for the first time.
Bayern Munich must absorb Jamal Musiala scare
Bayern then suffered another setback midway through the second half when centre-back Min-jae Kim, who apparently had muscular problems, became the next player to go off carrying a knock. Hiroki Ito replaced him in the 69th minute, and at the same time £50 million new signing Ismael Saibari made his debut in a Bayern shirt. The Moroccan first stood out for the wrong reasons with a fairly crude challenge on Ezechiel Banzuzi. Shortly afterwards, though, he also made an impact on the ball, setting up Jamal Musiala for Munich's third goal in the 3-1 final score after a fine dribble.
Musiala, too, had come on for the closing stages, but shortly after his goal he was also at the centre of a major scare: suddenly the Germany international was lying on the turf, with team-mates and opponents frantically waving for the emergency doctor. Fortunately, Musiala was able to get back to his feet relatively quickly, but still looked dazed as he left the pitch. What exactly was wrong with him was initially unclear. Captain Manuel Neuer also knew nothing more immediately after the final whistle: "It will become clear what it was. But of course we are keeping our fingers crossed," he said on MagentaTV about Musiala.
Before things get serious for Bayern for the first time next Saturday in the Super Cup against Borussia Dortmund, they still have one more friendly on the schedule. On Tuesday, the champions visit second-division side Heidenheim.
