Bayern Munich are grinding out results rather than cruising, and that tension between expectation and reality defines their early season. The 2-1 win at promoted Elversberg on Sunday kept them unbeaten in the Bundesliga, but it required a quadruple substitution from Vincent Kompany in the 65th minute to turn the game. Youngster Lennart Karl opened the scoring before the hosts equalised, and Harry Kane settled it with a 72nd-minute winner. Seven points from three games leaves Bayern fourth, two points behind leaders Freiburg and Dortmund, and BVB sporting director Lars Ricken has already taken a pointed jab at the champions' table position.

The contrast with their Champions League form is stark. A 5-0 demolition of Bodø/Glimt earlier in the week, with Michael Olise scoring twice and winning Man of the Match, showed what this squad is capable of at full tilt. Kompany defended Olise's famously terse post-match interview style, arguing the 24-year-old's on-pitch brilliance speaks for itself, and sporting director Max Eberl noted Olise has been named Man of the Match three times in five games this season.

Off the pitch, Kane's contract extension beyond next summer is progressing but unhurried. The striker said he expects talks to conclude within one to two months. Bayern host Union Berlin on Friday in their Oktoberfest kit, a chance to sharpen their domestic form before the international break.