Harry Kane happy with Bayern Munich move ahead of Manchester United meeting

By Sports Desk September 19, 2023

Harry Kane maintains Bayern Munich always felt like the right choice for his next club as the England striker prepares to face Manchester United in the Champions League.

Kane left Tottenham for Bayern in a deal which could be worth up to £100million ahead of the summer transfer window closing.

Reports suggested United were one of the English clubs also interested in the 30-year-old forward.

“Obviously over the summer I know there were some talks between a few clubs in the background, but Bayern were a team I was really interested and excited by,” the England captain said ahead of Wednesday night’s Group A opener at the Allianz Arena.

“There were not too many other discussions once they came in. It was between them and Tottenham to talk and then the deal got done.

“My focus is on here. Manchester United are a great club, a really big club as well. I just decided to come here and am really happy I have.”

Related items

  • Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb: Record-breaking Kane scores four in demolition Bayern Munich 9-2 Dinamo Zagreb: Record-breaking Kane scores four in demolition

    Harry Kane produced a remarkable four-goal haul to make English history as Bayern Munich demolished visitors Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in their record-breaking Champions League opener.

    Kane, who scored a hat-trick in their Bundesliga win over Holstein Kiel on Saturday, converted a 19th-minute penalty before goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Michael Olise in the first half on Tuesday.

    Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara led a fightback early in the second half, with Dinamo hoping to find a way back, but Bayern responded through goals from Kane and Olise.

    Kane netted his third and fourth with penalties shortly after, helping him onto 33 strikes in the competition and comfortably past Wayne Rooney's 30-goal record among English players in the Champions League.

    Leroy Sane added another in the 85th before fellow substitute Leon Goretzka headed in the hosts' record-breaking ninth finish, the most by one team in a single match since the Champions League was introduced.

    Data Debrief: Penalty perfection for Kane

    Deadly finisher Kane accumulated 3.76 expected goals (xG) of Bayern's total 6.27 tally for the match, with the 31-year-old finding the target with six of his eight attempts in what proved to be a total domination.

    Kane is the first player to score a hat-trick of penalties in a European Cup/Champions League match, and the first Englishman to score four in a match in the competition since Alan Smith for Arsenal against FK Austria Wien in 1991.

    There was history elsewhere, however, as Thomas Muller appeared in his 152nd Champions League match for Bayern, breaking Xavi's record for the most matches with one club in the competition (151 for Barcelona).

    Vincent Kompany will be looking forward to the rest of this European term, too, after Bayern started a 21st straight campaign in the competition with victory, with their last such defeat coming against Deportivo de La Coruna back in 2002-03.

  • Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley: Rampant Rashford nets twice in EFL Cup rout Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley: Rampant Rashford nets twice in EFL Cup rout

    Marcus Rashford was on target again with a double as Manchester United demolished third-tier Barnsley 7-0 at Old Trafford in the EFL Cup third round.

    Rashford had scored his first goal since mid-March in Saturday's Premier League victory at Southampton, after which Erik ten Hag predicted more would follow.

    And the United manager was quickly proven right as Rashford grabbed the first and fifth goals on Tuesday, helping to fire the Red Devils into the last 16 of the EFL Cup.

    Rashford, who netted in United's final victory over Newcastle United in this competition two seasons ago, appeared full of confidence after 16 minutes as he brought down Alejandro Garnacho's crossfield pass, skipped past Marc Roberts and blasted into the top corner.

    The exiled England international was not alone among United's under-fire forwards in enjoying a productive game in front of goal either, with Antony getting his first of the season by winning and converting a penalty.

    It was three on the stroke of half-time as Garnacho prodded in after Rashford was tackled in the area, and the excellent Argentina winger scored again shortly after the restart.

    Rashford raced onto another Garnacho pass and finished coolly just before the hour mark, before Christian Eriksen added a late brace of his own.

    Data Debrief: He shoots, he scores

    It was hard to foresee Rashford's three-goal week prior to the Southampton match – primarily because the United number 10 was not shooting, let alone scoring.

    Rashford appeared in United's first three Premier League matches of the season without even attempting a shot, but Barnsley's goal was subjected to target practice on Tuesday as his confidence returned.

    Those two Rashford goals came from six attempts, including five from inside the box as he thrived in a central striking role after so often toiling on the left wing.

  • Kane makes English history after passing Rooney's Champions League mark Kane makes English history after passing Rooney's Champions League mark

    Harry Kane stretched to further record-breaking ground by surpassing Wayne Rooney for the most goals by an English player in Champions League history.

    Bayern Munich forward Kane opened the scoring against Dinamo Zagreb with a penalty at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

    That moved the England captain level with former Manchester United star Rooney on 30 Champions League strikes, the joint-most by any player from their country.

    Kane later eased past Rooney's mark in the second half, powering home his 31st strike in the competition to take the outright English record.

    Kane netted eight times in UEFA's top club competition last season, his most in a single edition, and has got off to a blistering start in the revamped 2024-25 format.

    His second finish of the game helped Bayern to a 4-2 lead before Michael Olise's second goal extended the hosts' advantage further shortly after.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.