Harry Kane on Saturday endured a losing debut with Bayern Munich when his new team crashed to a 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup, just hours after sealing a move from Tottenham Hotspur.
Dani Olmo was the star of the show, producing a virtuoso performance and scoring a hat-trick in Munich as Kane’s dream of clinching his first major silverware was shattered.
Kane came on as a 64th-minute substitute with Bayern already trailing 2-0. Olmo completed his hat-trick soon after.
Photo: Reuters
The England skipper was largely anonymous, but earned the sympathy of Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.
“I’m just sorry for Harry Kane, he probably thinks that we haven’t trained for four weeks,” said Tuchel who admitted he was at a loss for words after the German champions’ limp performance.
“It’s frightening, unexplainable,” he said. “It was the case last season, and clearly we have completely disintegrated to that frequency again today.”
Record England goalscorer Kane joined from Tottenham for a fee in excess of 100 million euros (US$109.6 million) earlier on Saturday.
Bayern fans had lined up hours before kickoff to get their “Kane 9” shirts printed at the club store.
Kane, who was given the number nine vacated by Robert Lewandowski, had said on social media that he was “feeling good” and “looking forward to the match” after taking part in his first training session as a new Bayern player.
Yet he could not turn the tide as Leipzig were awarded a penalty 3 minutes after he was introduced.
Olmo converted the spot-kick to seal a first Super Cup title for Marco Rose’s side.
Kane, who has lost three finals with Tottenham and one with England, must wait for his first ever trophy.
Leipzig had earlier stunned the Allianz Arena, taking the lead inside 3 minutes. David Raum’s free-kick was not dealt with by Bayern, and Olmo calmly stroked the ball beyond Sven Ulreich.
The goal shook the hosts into action, and Bayern’s best chances of the first half were crafted by Serge Gnabry and spurned by French teenager Mathys Tel.
The best of them came after a beautiful reverse pass by Gnabry that sent Tel clean through, but he could only shoot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Janis Blaswich.
Things went from bad to worse for Bayern when Olmo scored a fabulous second to double Leipzig’s advantage a couple of minutes before halftime.
The Spaniard’s deft pivot around Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt allowed him the space to slot it calmly beyond Ulreich.
Kane, 30, has moved to Bayern after two decades at Tottenham where he was constantly thwarted in his bid for trophies.
“I felt like it was the time to leave. I didn’t want to go into the season with a lot of unresolved future talk,” Kane said on social media. “Obviously a lot of emotions going through me right now; sad to be leaving the club I’ve spent nearly 20 years of my life at, from 11-year-old boy to a 30-year-old man now.”
“There’s been so many great moments and special memories, memories that I will cherish forever,” he added.
After protracted negotiations between Bayern and Spurs’ chairman Daniel Levy a deal was finally struck on Thursday.
“It’s been a long process, but now we’re all the happier that Harry Kane will be wearing the Bayern Munich shirt with immediate effect,” Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said.
“Harry Kane was our absolute dream player right from the start. He is a perfect fit for us and the club’s DNA in terms of both football and character,” Dreesen said.
Levy said that Tottenham had “reluctantly agreed to the transfer.”
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
BELGIANS ADVANCE: Club Brugge gave Atalanta a lesson in efficiency, as Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had 29 efforts at goal, compared with seven from the visitors Seldom has a player’s sending off had such an influence on a game. AC Milan was to left rue Theo Hernandez’s second yellow card — for diving — as Feyenoord advanced to the UEFA Champions League last 16 at the former European champion’s expense with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday, giving the Dutch team a 2-1 win on aggregate. Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Benfica also won their playoffs, eliminating Celtic, UEFA Europa League winner Atalanta BC and French team AS Monaco respectively. “In soccer everything changes in a second,” said Milan forward