Harry Kane is urging Bayern Munich to match their attacking intensity and physical edge in next week’s Champions League semi-final second leg, after a chaotic 5-4 first-leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain left the Bundesliga side just one goal behind in the tie and confident about turning it around at the Allianz Arena.
Kane stressed that Bayern must treat the return match as a narrow contest, despite the high scoreline in Paris, and wants the team to maintain aggression in duels across the pitch for the full 90 minutes, believing that approach created most of Bayern’s chances in the first leg.
Reflecting on areas to sharpen before the second leg, Kane focused on decision-making in attack rather than defensive errors, and highlighted how Bayern
improved as the match developed, growing stronger in possession and belief, which is why the striker views the tie as finely balanced despite the nine-goal thriller at the Parc des Princes.
"When you come off any game, win or lose, you always feel like there areareas of improvement," he added. "We had moments where we could have been more clinical with the final pass or finish. As the game went on, we got better and better. We’re going to the Allianz, and essentially, it’s 1-0. We’ve got to bring the same intensity, we’re at our best when we’re physical, in the one-v-one duels, making contact, that’s when all our chances came. We need more of that next week. It’ll be who takes their moment next week. There were a lot of moments out there, it’ll probably be the same next week. Us being at home, with the crowd behind us, we hope it can push us over the line. "
The forward opened the scoring in the 17th minute in Paris, starting Bayern Munich’s early comeback attempt, yet the visitors later slipped to a 5-2 deficit by the 58th minute, leaving the German champions facing a heavy loss before a late rally transformed the mood of the tie.
Bayern Munich’s response began when Dayot Upamecano headed in Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick, then Kane produced a precise long pass that released Luis Diaz to reduce the arrears to 5-4, ensuring Thomas Tuchel’s side travel back to Munich needing only a one-goal swing to level the aggregate score.
The nine-goal clash drew level with Eintracht Frankfurt’s 6-3 victory over Rangers in the 1959-60 European Cup as the joint highest-scoring semi-final in the competition’s history, underlining how both Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich attacked relentlessly, despite the high stakes of a Champions League last-four tie.
This season’s competition also reached a new scoring landmark, because for the first time in a single Champions League campaign two clubs have each passed forty goals, with PSG now on 43 and Bayern Munich on 42, reinforcing Kane’s belief that the second leg in Germany could produce similar drama for supporters.
PSG converted all five of their shots on target, which statistics show is the first instance since detailed data began in 2003-04 that a team in a Champions League knockout match has registered at least five attempts on goal on target and scored with every one, putting unusual pressure on Bayern’s defensive record.
Kane, however, praised the quality of defenders on both sides and pointed to the balance of the contest, describing how centre-backs stepped into midfield and covered wide areas, and emphasised that Bayern’s ability to fight back from 5-2 down away from home under intense pressure provides belief that the Allianz Arena crowd can help swing the semi-final in their favour.
"I think you saw two high-level teams out there, especially in the attacking play, the transitions, the speed, the intensity in the one-v-one battles," Kane told Amazon Prime. "It was two of the top teams going toe to toe. We had moments where we could have killed the game earlier on. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we got it back to 5-4. To be 5-2 down away from home is a really tough place to be. But we fought and we clawed, and we’re back in the tie.
"Even though there were nine goals scored, I thought there was some amazing defending. You’ve got the best players in the world going at it, the best attackers, best defenders, sometimes the attackers will come out on top and show their quality, like both teams did. If you look at the centre-backs playing in midfield, carrying attacks, playing out wide against wingers, I thought they were outstanding. "
