‘Bayern Munich have done it the hard way in Champions League,’ says Harry Kane

Vincent Kompany named Bayern Munich’s youngest Champions League side in a decade against PSV Eindhoven but, amid the changes, the defining influence of Harry Kane remained a notable constant.

The England captain came off the bench with less than half an hour remaining at the PSV Stadion and once again proved decisive for Bayern, slamming home a Luis Díaz centre to cancel out Ismael Saibari’s leveller with six minutes remaining.

It was Kane’s 35th goal in 31 matches this season across all competitions, with 21 of those strikes coming in the Bundesliga, where the 32-year-old striker has the record tally for a German league campaign of 41, set by former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, firmly in his sights.

Characteristically, though, Kane was less preoccupied by his own achievements than the collective strength of Bayern, whose 2-1 victory ensured they claimed second place in the league phase standings behind Arsenal, the only team to beat them. 

Harry Kane: Bayern Munich are ‘in a good moment’

“Seven wins out of eight just shows the type of team we are,” said Kane, who greeted victory all the more gratefully after Bayern suffered a first league defeat of the season against Augsburg at the weekend. 

“I felt like we probably had the toughest group [of fixtures] out of everyone, as well. A lot of really difficult games – away to PSG, away to Arsenal, Chelsea at home, away here [at PSV]. We had to do it the hard way.

“PSG away was a great stepping stone for us, I thought [in] the first half of that game we were outstanding. We got a man sent off and then we had to find a way to win in the second half in a different style. Those wins bring you closer together.

“Even the defeat against Arsenal, we learned from that, we improved from that. 

“We know there’s still a long way to go and we’re going to have to play a lot of good teams. But it was important to finish [in the] top two at least. We’ve got the home-field advantage in the second leg and we’re in a good moment. We just have to keep it going and see where it takes us.”

Jamal Musiala ‘really happy’ about goal-scoring return

On an evening of firsts, Kane started a European game on the bench for the first time as a Bayern player, while Jamal Musiala made his first start since suffering a broken leg at last summer’s Club World Cup, marking the occasion with the opening goal.

“I’m really happy about my goal,” enthused Musiala. “My mum’s already sent me a thousand WhatsApp messages. Most of all, I’m happy to be back on the pitch.”

Aged 22, Musiala was part of a starting XI with an average age of 24 years and 339 days, making it the youngest Bayern have fielded in Europe since September 2015.

Bayern, who are in negotiations with Kane over a contract extension, will face one of Atalanta, Olympiacos, Bayer Leverkusen or Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.