Harry Kane scores as Bayern Munich begin season in style

Victory in German Cup marks manager Vincent Kompany's first match in charge

Harry Kane and Thomas Mueller scored in Bayern Munich's win over Ulm in the German Cup. Getty Images

Thomas Mueller scored twice in three first-half minutes as Bayern Munich beat second-division Ulm 4-0 in the German Cup on Friday in their first match under coach Vincent Kompany.

Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman also scored late in the second half to complete the rout in what was the first competitive fixture of the German football season.

Bayern are winners of 20 German Cups but have failed to make it past the quarter-finals of the competition since winning the treble in 2019-20.

They brought in Kompany as manager in the summer after failing to win a trophy last season - their first trophyless campaign since 2012.

Veteran Mueller, 34, tapped in a Joshua Kimmich pass after 12 minutes and added another shortly after, tucking in a Serge Gnabry cross.

Coman turned in a pass from new signing Michael Olise with 11 minutes remaining before Kane added another in injury time, his first German Cup goal.

While Bayern had a comfortable evening, three other Bundesliga teams needed extra time or penalties to overcome lower-tier opposition.

Hoffenheim, St Pauli and Mainz all had to work a lot harder before booking their place in the next round.

Hoffenheim struggled most at third-tier Wurzburger Kickers. Hoffenheim went behind after 11 minutes but an own goal eight minutes later took the game to extra time. Wurzburg led again after scoring in the 100th minute, but Marius Bulter equalised for Hoffenheim in the 107th to take the game to penalty kicks.

Wurzburg captain Dominik Meisel was the only player to miss from the spot as Hoffenheim won the shootout 5-3.

Fourth-tier Hallescher were seconds away from embarrassing last season’s second-division champion St Pauli. Hallescher led 2-1 until Adam Dzwigała equalised in the 94th. Substitute Lars Ritzka scored the winner for the Hamburg club in the 110th minute for a 3-2 victory.

Mainz recovered from going 1-0 down against third-tier Wehen Wiesbaden and needed extra-time goals from captain Jonathan Burkardt and midfielder Nadiem Amiri to clinch a 3-1 win.

Kane will be hoping the form shown early in the season will stand him in good stead for bigger challenges ahead, including international duty for England in next month's Nations League campaign.

Manager Lee Carsley was promoted from his under-21 role on Friday to replace Gareth Southgate, who stepped down in July after defeat in the Euro 2024 final to Spain.

Kane will soon be turning his attention back to international matters with a trip to Republic of Ireland on September 7 and the visit of Finland three days later.

While the temporary appointment of Carsley will shake things up in the England camp, captain Kane promised to do his best to make sure they can kick on from another near-miss in the summer.

"With Lee, no I haven't had contact yet. Obviously I know him from the 21s, from when we are at St George's, so I'm sure we'll be in touch before we meet up in a month or so," Kane had said earlier.

"We'll get back to business and, whoever the manager is, the way we want to play, we'll go out there and give it everything.

"I know the guys behind the scenes will make that decision and from my point of view as captain, as a player, it is to get behind the coach and we have two important games coming up.

"After the tournament we had, you want to kick-start well and get back to it. That is all we can do. Of course, those decisions are out of my hands. All I can do is my best for him (Carsley) and for our country."