Bayern Munich record-breaker Harry Kane says he feels the best he has in “a while” as the England captain targets a perfect second half to his side’s Champions League group stage campaign.
No player has scored more than the five goals notched in this season’s competition by Kane, who enters Die Roten’s home game against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday (8pm GMT) on the back of a 33-minute hat-trick in their 3-0 win over visitors Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Friday.
“It’s been a while since I’ve felt as good as I do now,” said Kane, having reached 50 goals in 43 appearances in the German top flight, breaking Erling Haaland’s previous record by seven matches.
“The numbers are really good. I feel really good. As an experienced player, you learn a lot from phases in the game. Since I’ve been at Bayern, my numbers have kept going up. I hope that keeps going and we can lift our level even further.”
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Harry Kane goals
Despite contributing 20 goals and nine assists in 17 games for Bayern this season, Kane’s critics have questioned the 31-year-old’s impact in crucial games.
Four of Kane’s Champions League goals came during the six-time European champions’ opening 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb, while the other arrived during a 4-1 defeat at Barcelona on October 23.
“It’s maybe a bit far off the mark, since I scored against big teams last season,” Kane observed. “Like I always do, I won’t just judge my performances on goals. If we get three wins now and I don’t score, then I’ll still be happy.”
Bayern Munich vs PSG
Bayern, who have also lost at Aston Villa and beaten Benfica at home, are currently 17th out of 36 teams and three points shy of the eighth-placed position they require to avoid a play-off to stay in the competition following their closing set of four group-stage matches.
Paris are two points below them in 25th – the first of the 12 lowest positions spelling automatic elimination from the competition.
🗣 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 💬
“Without the players around me, all of the goals I score would not be possible. They create space. We have a lot of competition for different positions, a lot of quality and a high tempo. Sometimes I also… pic.twitter.com/8zJzApak3W
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) November 25, 2024
“We know we need to win the rest of our games to get into the top eight,” acknowledged Kane. “We’re at home, which is an advantage.
“It’s the start of an important period and we want to kick that off with a good performance. They’re a good team. They try to dominate with possession. But we also try that as well.
“We want to make it as tough as possible for the opposition, which we’ve managed well this season. My role in pressing is clearly agreed with the [new] coach [Vincent Kompany]. Our pressing has worked well so far. A lot of it is more mental than just running.”
Bayern fixtures, table
Bayern are unbeaten after 11 Bundesliga games, winning nine of them to establish a six-point lead over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
They visit age-old rivals Borussia Dortmund, who are 10 points behind them in fifth, on Saturday (5.30pm GMT) in the match known as Der Klassiker.
