In Kompany's absence, Max Eberl defended the young winger who was the subject of criticism from Uli Hoeneß on Friday.

Max Eberl has responded calmly to Uli Hoeneß' scathing criticism of Lennart Karl and the player's current form Bayern Munich.

“What's happening with Lenny is a completely normal process for a young player," Eberl said during Bayern's press conference this morning.

"There's no career without problems, even for the biggest superstars. Everyone, and perhaps Lenny himself, expected things to continue as they did last season.

"That's perfectly normal. We're supporting him and are convinced he'll reach that level again. But he had the injury, he missed the World Cup. 

“And that naturally has an impact on a player. But as I said, for us it's a completely normal process,” Eberl said, coming to Karl's defence.

This comes after the German record champions' honorary president said Karl “needs to learn humility” after a poor start to the campaign.