Harry Kane scored a goal and an assist in Bayern Munich’s 8-1 demolition of VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday — but it easily could have been two goals of his own. Instead, the English captain took his moment one-on-one with goalkeeper Kamil Grabara and squared to his teammate, Raphaël Guerreiro, who was in even better shooting position.
The switch-up work, and Grabara, properly bamboozled, had no chance to save what was already Bayern’s fifth goal of the night.
“I probably could have scored myself, but the
team always comes first,” Kane said in postgame remarks captured by @iMiaSanMia. “It also sends a message to my teammates that it’s not about me — it’s about winning the game. And in that moment, passing the ball was the right thing to do.”
Now that’s leadership — not the pass itself, which was obviously the right choice in that situation. But the thought process behind it: not only about the goal but the example he is setting for his teammates to follow. There is backing yourself and there is taking the highest probability every time.
As for taking it on himself, Kane was through on goal but the goalkeeper was in a decent position. It would have taken a strike of remarkable quality, which Kane is certainly capable of delivering, and already had done so once on the night. But imagine the opposite message it would have sent if he had tried to go for it — and then missed.
Kane is on incredible form this season, with 20 goals in 16 Bundesliga games. This was certainly a farm-the-goals kind of night, but the striker has his priorities straight.
If you missed the highlights, or the rest of our post-game coverage at Bavarian Football Works, check out the matchday round-up post on the Feed!
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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