How have Bayern performed without Kane? | OneFootball

How have Bayern Munich performed without Harry Kane?

Harry Kane will lift the first trophy of his career should Bayern Munich win at RB Leipzig on Matchday 32, and his goals have been crucial to his team's success. But his importance to the record champions is perhaps best illustrated by the games in which he hasn’t played.

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Once again, Kane is on course to finish as the Bundesliga’s top scoring, having fired in a league-leading 24 goals, which five more than second-placed Patrik Schick. However, while he is some way off last year’s tally of 36, it appears his clinical edge in front of goal will lead to silverware as Bayern close in on regaining their title from Bayer Leverkusen.

Of course, the 31-year-old’s ability means he is rarely out of the starting line-up. Since his arrival at the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2023, he has started 85 of Bayern’s 97 games in all competitions, scoring 79 times. Unsurprisingly, the Bavarians’ record without him in the first XI, whether due to injury or being rested, is mixed.

Kane’s debut arrived with him coming off the bench in the 2023 Supercup against RB Leipzig. The Englishman was signed as Bayern’s statement summer signing to give them increased end product, and the fact they were 3-0 down by the time he was introduced in the second half only highlighted that.

He wasn’t needed for the 4-0 win over third-tier Preußen Münster in the first round of the 2023/24 DFB Cup, but Thomas Tuchel may well have regretted keeping him on the bench for the entirety of the second-round encounter with another 3. Liga outfit, Saarbrücken.

In one of the cup’s biggest shocks of all time, the latter progressed courtesy of an injury-time winner.

Leverkusen ran away with the Bundesliga last term, meaning Kane’s inclusion for the season's final two games was hardly necessary, especially as he had a back injury that needed nursing ahead of UEFA Euro 2024. Yet, while his teammates saw off Wolfsburg, they were beaten 4-2 by Hoffenheim on the final day, ultimately finishing third in the table.

Kane suffered an injury early on against Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 12 of this season, a game that finished in a 1-1 draw. Bayern’s No. 9 then missed back-to-back fixtures on Matchday 13 and 14 and again, the team were unconvincing in his absence.

A 4-2 victory over Heidenheim was followed by a 2-1 loss at Mainz, a game in which Leroy Sané’s close-ranged finish was their only shot on target of the entire match.

On Matchday 23, Vincent Kompany’s men were irresistible before Kane came on as a second-half substitute in a 4-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt – their first real show of strength without the former Tottenham Hotspur man. Nevertheless, two weeks later, Bayern blew a two-goal lead against lowly Bochum on their way to a 3-2 defeat, an outcome even Kane couldn't prevent after he was introduced around the hour mark.

It has been a similar story in the cup competitions. Shakhtar Donetsk were no match for Bayern as Kane struggled with injury in the UEFA Champions League, much like Ulm in the second round of the domestic cup. Against Leverkusen in the third round, however, Bayern could have done with his goalscoring prowess as they wasted several opportunities in a 1-0 loss.

All in all, the record without Kane in the starting XI reads six wins and six defeats. They have still been able to find the back of the net on a regular basis, converting on 29 occasions at a rate of 2.4 goals per game, although that is below the tallies they have recorded in each of the past two Bundesliga seasons (2.9 in 2024/25 so far and 2.7 in 2023/24).

Mathys Tel, Thomas Müller, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and even Jamal Musiala have filled the void in Kane’s absence, with Choupo-Moting – who is no longer at the club - and Müller scoring twice apiece.

None of them, though, have really staked a claim to compete with Kane. Tel is on loan in the English Premier League, Müller will leave Bayern at the end of the season and Musiala is at his best in an attacking midfield role.

History seems to suggest, then, that without Kane in the starting XI, consistency becomes a cause for concern, even with the abundance of ability at Kompany’s disposal.

So will it be hit of miss for Bayern as they bid to secure the title on Matchday 32 without their star man? Thankfully, we don't have to wait much longer to find out.

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