Bayern Munich boosted their bid to finish in the top eight of the UCL league phase table on Tuesday, December 9, by beating Sporting Lisbon 3-1. Here we look at three takeaways from Bayern Munich vs Sporting.
Bayern Munich vs Sporting: The Bavarians Know How To Handle Adversity
The Germans’ victory on Tuesday night in the Bayern Munich vs Sporting clash was the first match in Europe following their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Matchday 5. That loss showed that they still have a bit of a way to go to the absolute elite in European football at the moment.
On top of that, despite having been by far the better side in the first against Sporting, the Bavarians not only went into the halftime break scoreless, but they even fell 1-0 behind from a Joshua Kimmich own-goal soon after the interval.
Yet, they ultimately won with relative ease. Bayern have shown that they can come back to win from behind a number of times domestically this season as well. That proves resilience, which will be important, particularly later on in the term, when titles are truly won or lost.
No Kane Goals? No Problem!
Harry Kane has stated this Champions League season in great goalscoring form. He scored all of his five UCL goals to date this term in the opening three matches. That means that he has remained scoreless in his last three outings in Europe.
But that is certainly no cause for concern. The England captain is likely playing the best season of his career. He began 2025/26 scoring an insane number of goals in all competitions. For a long time, he averaged a brace in each match in which he played.
Those numbers have since naturally dried up a bit, but Kane has worked hard for the side in other ways. He draws multiple defenders onto himself, thus freeing space for his teammates to score.
And score they have, particularly the Bayern Munich teenage sensation Lennart Karl, who has found the net in each of the Bavarians’ last three UCL outings, namely the ones in which Kane himself has failed to score.
While the Bayern Munich No.9’s goals had somewhat dried up in domestic German competitions too, he did score three goals at the weekend, as a second-half substitute, no less, away to VfB Stuttgart.
The defending DFB Cup winners had not dropped any Bundesliga points at home until Bayern’s impressive 5-0 demolition of them in that spectacle.
Another reason why Kane is scoring less frequently now is that he has learnt to drop back to the playmaker position, and at times in a game, even to midfield and deeper. Wherever he is on the pitch, he helps the team immensely.
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Alphonso Davies Returns to the Field After Having Missed Nine Months Out Injured
The Canadian international had torn his ACL while on national team duty in March and finally saw action for the last few minutes of the Bayern Munich vs Sporting game.
It was the first time Davies had even sat on the bench and been part of a matchday squad since his recovery.
Overall, besides the crucial three points that are in the bag now, it was the feel-good story of the game.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Lackovic
Recording Date: 09.12.2025
