England captain Harry Kane scored his 20th goal of the season already as Bayern Munich thrashed Club Brugge 4-0 in the Champions League league phase at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. The other three goals were scored by Nicolas Jackson, Luis Diaz and Lennart Karl as the youngster broke Jamal Musiala's record to create Bayern history.
Kane beats Messi & Ronaldo as Bayern beat Brugge
Bayern looked fearsome from the start as Karl handed them the lead in the fifth minute of the match with a brilliant strike. The teenager received a pass before initiating a solo run through the middle. The midfielder dribbled past a couple of defenders before unleashing a stunning shot which flew into the top corner. With the early goal, Karl usurped Jamal Musiala to become the youngest player to score for the Bavarian club in the Champions League at 17 years and 242 days.
Nine minutes later, the German champions doubled their lead as Kane netted a simple tap-in from Konrad Laimer's assist. This was Kane's 20th goal for Bayern across all competitions in just 12 matches. Barcelona legend Lionel Messi achieved that feat thrice in his career in 17 matches, while former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo's fastest was in 13 games.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, Diaz added a third to his team's tally. The former Liverpool star exchanged a quick one-two with Laimer on the left flank before the full-back fed the Colombian with a pass. Diaz then cut into the middle and found the back of the net with a powerful shot.
In the second period, Bayern looked less dangerous in their attacks and, at times, they were running out of gas. Vincent Kompany introduced Jackson in the 69th minute as he decided to take off Kane and give him some rest. The substitution proved to be a success as six minutes later the former Chelsea striker bagged a fourth goal with a simple finish to wrap up a routine win for the Bavarian giants.
AdvertisementAFPThe MVP
While Kane and Karl created history, it was Laimer who was the star of the show for Kompany's side. The right-back was an absolute livewire on the right side as he came up with two crucial assists for Kane and Diaz. Defensively, he was absolutely flawless as the Club Brugge wingers could hardly trouble the versatile Austrian.
The big loser
Club Brugge's defenders had a night to forget as they allowed Bayern's attackers to score for fun throughout the 90 minutes. In the first half, Kane and Co. completely dominated proceedings as they were given the freedom of the park to wreak havoc, and they took full advantage.
AFPMatch rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐