Bayern Munich's Winning Streak and Musiala's Return

OSNABRÜCK, Germany — Bayern Munich are winning, scoring freely and moving smoothly into the season. Yet every question still seems to bend back toward one name: Jamal Musiala.

Kompany urges patience over Musiala

Vincent Kompany made it clear on Wednesday night that Bayern will not rush their 21-year-old star back, no matter how sharp the team already looks.

Musiala was again absent from the squad as Bayern swept past second-tier Osnabrück 4-1 in the German Cup, and he has yet to feature under Kompany after collapsing twice in preseason because of a neurological issue.

He has since revealed he is dealing with treatable absence seizures, episodes that twice floored him in the space of four days in August — first in a friendly on Aug. 18, just three days after a similar collapse against RB Leipzig.

Kompany admitted Musiala “might” be an option for Saturday’s Bundesliga trip to promoted Schalke, but he immediately pushed back against any sense of urgency.

“I don’t want to put any more pressure on the guy,” he said after the win in Osnabrück.

For all the excitement around Bayern’s flying start, the message around Musiala is restraint.

Kane leads the charge as Bayern cruise

On the pitch, Bayern looked ruthless again.

Harry Kane struck twice as the holders eased into the second round, the England captain once more at the heart of a performance that underlined how quickly Kompany’s attack has clicked.

The coach resisted the temptation to heavily rotate against lower-league opposition. There was no experimental XI here. He started Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise together, while new signing Ismael Saibari was handed his first start since arriving from PSV Eindhoven.

The decision paid off, but not before a jolt.

Osnabrück’s Robin Meissner stunned the visitors early, unleashing a spectacular drive from around 30 meters that screamed into the top right corner. It was the kind of goal that silences both benches for a second. Kane and even Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig went over to acknowledge the strike.

Kane later called it “an outrageous goal” and admitted these nights are never straightforward.

“I think it was a good performance. Games likes this are never easy,” he said. “We played away from home against a good side and the atmosphere the fans created was really impressive. In games like this you have to be disciplined and mentally switched on — especially when the opponents start with such an outrageous goal.”

The response was swift. Kane levelled soon after Meissner’s opener, restoring order before Tom Bischof made it 2-1 in the 24th minute to tilt the tie firmly Bayern’s way.

Osnabrück hung on for a while, compact and stubborn, exactly the profile Kompany had warned about.

“We kept finding the spaces and the chances eventually became bigger as well. We were battling their compactness in the first half; in the second they tried to press us, which also gave us opportunities,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a 4-1 win away in the cup. You can’t get much better than that against a compact, defensively strong team, who have built their success on just that. To win a match like this 4-1 away from home is not easy.”

The pressure finally told. Olise struck in the 73rd minute to settle the contest, and Kane added a late penalty to finish with a brace and close out another emphatic scoreline.

Bayern already in stride

The cup win continues a powerful opening run for Kompany’s side: a 2-1 victory over Dortmund in the Super Cup, a 5-1 demolition of Stuttgart to launch their Bundesliga campaign, and now a comfortable passage in the cup.

The football looks sharp. The attack looks loaded. The results look ominous for the rest of Germany.

Now comes the next step: integrating Musiala back into a team already humming, without compromising his health or piling expectation on his shoulders.

Kompany insists he will not rush that decision. The season is long. The stakes for Bayern are always high. For Musiala, they’re even higher.