Harry Kane has seamlessly adapted to the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich. The English forward continues to get better with each passing day. Kane scored his second hattrick for Die Roten on Saturday to help the team clinch an emphatic 8-0 win against Darmstadt in the Bundesliga.
Thomas Tuchel decided against making several changes to the starting XI on Saturday. The only meaningful change for Die Roten was the much-awaited return of Manuel Neuer to the starting XI. The German goalkeeper played his first game for Bayern in more than ten months due to a serious leg injury.
Neuer was the talk of the town before the game, but the positivity around his return didn’t exactly reflect in the team’s start at Allianz Arena. Joshua Kimmich was sent off in the fourth minute. The German midfielder lost the possession cheaply after receiving the pass from Manuel Neuer, which eventually led to a rash tackle.
The visitors had the advantage of extra man for not so long as Klaus Gjasula brought down Konrad Laimer just outside the box. Since the Austrian midfielder was the last man, Gjasula’s yellow card was changed to red after a VAR review. Things got worse for the visitors in the 41st minute as Matej Maglica received a red card for bringing Kane down at the edge of the box. It was a very similar incident that saw the referee giving marching orders to Gjasula.
The eventful first half saw three red cards and few half chances for Bayern. It was difficult to get complete control of the game, but things changed dramatically for the home side in the second half.
Harry Kane led from the front for Die Roten as they looked to get all three points in a convincing manner. The English forward opened the scoring with a thumping header in the 51st minute. Jamal Musiala and Noussair Mazraoui linked up well on the right flank before the Moroccan full-back found Kane with a pinpoint cross.
The next 20 minutes saw Bayern scoring four more goals to put the game beyond Darmstadt. Leroy Sane got himself a brace, while Jamal Musiala scored one from the edge of the box during the box. However, the best bit of play from Kane as he found the back of the net from his own half. The English forward showed great awareness to spot the goalkeeper off the line and showed great technique to score the goal.
Musiala ended up scoring a brace later in the game, while Thomas Muller came off the bench to chip in with a goal and two assists. Thomas Tuchel also got the opportunity to give game time to youngsters Frans Kratzig and Aleksandar Pavlovic. The latter made his first team debut in the 77th minute.
Kane eventually completed a hat trick late in the game to round off an incredible performance from him. Along with scoring a hat trick, Kane also had one assist to his name in this game. He became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to score 10+ goals and provide 5+ assists this season.
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Bayern had to show a lot of patience while negotiating with Tottenham Hotspur for Harry Kane in the summer. The executives at the club will be feeling vindicated now as the English striker keeps delivering week in, week out.