Harry Kane: Thomas Tuchel blames striker's back pain for Bayern Munich substitution

Harry Kane: Thomas Tuchel blames striker’s back pain for Bayern Munich substitution

In that 2011-12 marketing campaign when Bayern completed empty-handed, Kane was ending a season on mortgage from Tottenham to Millwall, the place he scored seven targets in 22 League One video games and was nonetheless a yr away from his Premier League debut.

This season, he has virtually singlehandedly tried to pull Bayern to glory.

Bayern’s second highest scorer, Jamal Musiala – additionally subbed off in Madrid – has simply 12 targets in all competitions.

Nevertheless, hampered by poor performances and dangerous selections round him, Kane has come up simply brief.

Bayern misplaced their 11-year grip on the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen, had been knocked out of the German Cup by third-tier Saarbrucken and now they are going to be surprised having appeared set for an all-German closing within the Champions League.

After a quiet opening quarter of the match on the Santiago Bernabeu, Kane sprung to life with a snap volley from the sting of the field within the twenty eighth minute which Andriy Lunin needed to go full stretch right down to his left to save lots of.

However Bayern round him had been once more off the tempo, with a passive displaying that noticed Madrid dominate. Solely a sequence of superb saves from Neuer stored the tie stage, till Kane made his most telling intervention.

Alphonso Davies’ strike together with his supposed weaker proper foot to place Bayern forward on the evening caught the attention, nevertheless it was Kane who made the play by dropping deep, then spraying an thought go out to the left for the Canadian full-back to tackle, reduce inside and hearth residence.

Kane’s worth to Bayern stretches method past targets. He even led the complaints to the referee when Nacho shoved Joshua Kimmich within the face earlier than Madrid appeared to have equalised, previous to the objective being dominated out by VAR.

However then got here the turning level, as with 5 minutes remaining Tuchel changed Kane with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as a part of a sequence of modifications to attempt to see out the match.

“That can be seen because the second Tuchel misplaced this for Bayern,” German soccer professional Archie Rhind-Tutt instructed BBC Radio 5 Reside.

“You may see it in his facial features after the second Madrid objective went in – he seemed shaken. He normally has an excellent poker face, Tuchel. That for me was a man who knew it had all gone fallacious.”

Tuchel, attributable to depart on the finish of the season, defended his name, saying Kane was in no state to proceed.

“He could not maintain going. He performed with again ache and he could not maintain going, his again froze up,” Tuchel mentioned.

Shortly earlier than Kane got here off, Choupo-Moting’s fellow former Stoke Metropolis participant Joselu was thrown on by Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti – and he snatched the putting glory.

Because the Actual gamers sprinted on to the pitch to have a good time Joselu’s winner, Kane was left within the away staff dugout to surprise what may need been.