Harry Kane has been setting Bundesliga on fire for Bayern Munich this season. He has 21 goals and five assists in 16 matches, a statistics that almost defies belief. At this rate, he is going to break the goal-scoring records for the Bavarians for a particular season.
Bayern is second in the Bundesliga table at the moment and is a couple of points adrift of table-toppers Bayer Leverkusen. They have also won each of their four group games in UEFA Champions League.
Bayern has a great depth in their attack
Bayern has exceptional depth in their attack with players like Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller and Kingsley Coman all providing edge to it. Sane and Gnabry have great speed, while Musiala’s creative skills have few equals.
It means that there has been no dearth of supply of passes to the English captain. However, Kane himself is also quite adept at falling back and create moves from the deep. Kane’s form means that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has primarily played as a substitute only this season and has only three goals to his credit in 15 matches.
Winning the Bundesliga is nothing new for the Bavarians, but Kane’s impact should help them have a realistic swipe at the Champions League title. Bayern won the title last in 2020, and was well beaten by eventual champions Manchester City last season.
The defensive acumen of most of the clubs in Bundesliga is not that great
While one cannot take credit away from the 30-year-old Kane, one also has to take into account the not-so-good defenses of most of the German clubs. Borussia Dortmund has traditionally been Bayern’s closest rivals, with a 34-year-old Mats Hummels still getting starts for them as a center back.
Hummels was a World Cup winner with Germany and one of their greatest center backs of recent times. However, he is past his prime now. That is just an example to impress upon the fact that most of the defenses in Germany are not that great.
Bayern and Leverkusen have scored a staggering 42 and 34 goals, respectively, in only 11 matches so far. This shows the ineptness of the majority of the defences in the league. It is certainly not Kane’s or Bayern’s fault, but one gets the drift in terms of evaluating the defensive acumen of most of the clubs.
The real test will once again come against the elite clubs of Europe
The real test for Bayern, however, awaits them in the latter stages of the Champions League, as always. It is there that Kane will have to make his presence felt. He has scored four goals in four matches in Europe’s premier competition this season, including one against Manchester United.
However, sterner tests should come against the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Liverpool. Thomas Tuchel will sincerely hope that his most potent weapon fires against the biggest of oppositions. It remains to be seen how far he is able to capitalize on the unreal start he has gotten for his new club.