Harry Kane title dream remains alive
The dream of Harry Kane to finally win his first trophy this season stays alive. On Wednesday, Bayern Munich beat Arsenal 1-0 thanks to a goal by Joshua Kimmich to advance to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League, where the Bavarian giants will face Real Madrid. “An unbelievable win,” Kane said to UEFA.com after the game.
“To reach the semi-finals is a great achievement for us and we can enjoy this one.”
Out of the DFB Pokal and with Leverkusen having wrapped up the Bundesliga title, the Champions League remains Bayern’s only hope to avoid the first title-less season since 2012.
Indeed, Kane admitted that this has been a challenging year for the club.
“It’s been a tough season for us. We’ve had to fight and really grind at times. Today was that. We knew it was going to be a tough game we knew at home we could make the difference with our fans there. It was what we expected: a though game, a tight game.” In the end, Bayern would see off Arsenal, but not thanks to a goal by Kane but by right-back Kimmich. “A great goal from Josh [Kimmich] to make the difference for us,” Kane added.
Kane, however, did play his part over the two legs. The 30-year-old England captain scored the penalty in the first leg that made it 2-1 for Bayern. That second goal ultimately paved the way for an important away draw and a strong platform from which Bayern were able to advance from on Wednesday. That goal at the Emirates was also Kane’s seventh goal in the Champions League this season, equalling his personal record of seven goals scored back in the 2017/18 campaign with Tottenham.
Kane record within grasp – Can Bayern Munich win the Champions League?
There are notable differences between the 2017/18 campaign and this year. Three of Kane’s goals for Tottenham came in a group-stage fixture against APOEL Nicosia (3-0). Kane failed to score in both group stage games against Real Madrid (1-1; 3-1) and his one goal against Juventus was not enough to fight off round of 16 elimination (1-2; 2-2). Although Kane has always had high goal tallies, there was always some doubt on whether he can consistently score in big matches. A narrative that received further ammunition when Tottenham reached the final 2018/19 without the injured Kane and then lost against Liverpool (2-0) with Kane in the lineup.
Not scoring on big occasions is one narrative that Kane wants to put to bed this season. The other is his inability to win titles. When it comes to the first, Kane is on an excellent path to prove his doubters wrong. This season in the Champions League, Kane has not only scored seven goals in ten games but also scored crucial goals against Man United, in the second leg against Lazio, and then in the first leg against Arsenal.
Up next will be Real Madrid with fellow English superstar Jude Bellingham. Bayern made Kane the club’s record transfer last summer to get past the likes of Real Madrid to win the Champions League. Kane, in turn, joined Bayern to win titles. Just one goal against Real Madrid would be a new single-season Champions League goalscoring record for Kane. But Kane, like the rest of Bayern, will want more, to finally win a title for himself and ensure that this won’t be Bayern’s first title-less season since 2012.
