Elversberg, who started their first-ever Bundesliga season with back-to-back victories, showed great intent in the early stages at the Waldstadion Kaiserlinde, but they were given a demonstration of Bayern’s threat when Lennart Karl tested Nicolas Kristof from distance after neatly linking up with Kane.
Elversberg failed to take heed of that warning as Karl broke the deadlock shortly before the half-hour mark, steering the ball in from close range after Ismael Saibari’s low cross found a way to the far post.
Bayern nearly squandered their narrow advantage when Aleksandar Pavlovic’s misplaced header opened the door for Cole Campbell to fire past Jonas Urbig, but an offside infringement ultimately saved the midfielder’s blushes and denied the American a famous goal.
That proved to be Campbell’s final meaningful action before being withdrawn for Maurice Krattenmacher, who swapped Bayern for Elversberg in the summer. The 21-year-old required little over 15 minutes to haunt his former employers, just moments after Kane had an effort chalked off for offside.
Given plenty of space on the edge of the box, Krattenmacher worked the ball onto his right foot to create the angle to curl an unstoppable strike into the top corner.
Unfortunately for the hosts, the surprise equaliser only angered Bayern, who quickly upped the ante as Michael Olise saw an effort desperately cleared off the line before he sent another strike looping onto the crossbar in his attempt to lob Kristof.
Rather than Olise, it was Kane who proved to be Bayern’s hero, restoring the lead with his fourth competitive goal of the season.
The England captain received the ball in a congested area and utilised a couple of composed touches to work the space for a shot that flew past Kristof at the near post.
Kane’s 72nd-minute goal proved the difference in the first competitive meeting between the two sides, moving Vincent Kompany’s charges up to fourth and dropping the home side down to sixth spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Kane (Bayern)
