For the most part in Bayern Munich’s 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, it was one way traffic, but the Croatian side did have their bright spell when they scored two goals in as many minutes to start the second. The pair of goals proved to be nothing more than a small consolation, but Bayern’s dominance was also aided by having been given a trio of penalties, all of which were calmly converted by Harry Kane.
The penalties comprised three of the four goals he scored on the night to take him over Wayne Rooney’s mark of 30 Champions League goals to become the highest ever English scorer in the competition. The concession of penalties was the least of Zagreb’s worries on the night, but giving away three certainly did not do them any favors in trying to keep the match closer to give themselves a better chance of getting something out of it. Bayern could have very easily scored more than nine goals.
After the match and getting his man of the match award from UEFA, Kane spoke to the press and mentioned how penalties can be massive difference makers in any given match and that they should never be overlooked. “People sometimes take penalties for granted, but they can be a really important part of the game when the game’s tied and can be the difference in big games,” the England skipper explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua via Getty Images
Personally, Kane has already netted a total of five penalties across all competitions for Bayern this season, and he is likely to add a handful more to that tally as the season progresses. Back in the summer, he also scored a crucial penalty in England’s semifinal, 2-1 win over the Netherlands at the EUROs to help them go on to the final, where they eventually lost to Spain in Berlin.
Since he has joined Bayern from Tottenham last summer, he has now scored a total of 13 penalties for the Rekordmeister, and he admitted that, even as a regular penalty-taker, he was not used to taken three in one match. “I practice my penalties a lot, I have the same routine, but even for me it was strange to take three in one game. It was the first time I’ve done that but I just had to do what I always do. I’ve changed my process a bit. Some of them I’ll decide in the moment, some of them I’ll decide the day before the game. Sometimes I now wait for the goalkeeper to take a step because then becomes harder for him to make a save,” he explained (Bundesliga).
Want to hear some thoughts and analysis on the job that Vincent Kompany is doing at Bayern Munich? What about why the “Performance Principle” should just be retired? Or…maybe you want to hear about what might be going on with phenom Mathys Tel. No matter, we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
