Harry Kane is still getting used to the lofty expectations that come with the territory at Bayern Munich.
Tottenham Hotspur's all-time record scorer compared the mindset in Bavaria with that of his former employer. "We wanted to win at Spurs, but if you went a couple of games without winning it wasn't a disaster," he explained. "At Bayern you have to win every game."
Bayern's winning streak with Kane in the side was ended by the only other Bundesliga team with a 100% record before Friday night. Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen were well worth a point even if they had to wait until the 94th minute for Exequiel Palacios to convert the equalising penalty in a 2-2 draw.
Kane had given Bayern the lead at the Allianz Arena inside seven minutes with his fourth goal in as many top-flight appearances for the Bavarian giants. No player in the history of the German behemoth has ever enjoyed a better scoring start but Kane's new team were not lining up to congratulate him.
Harry Kane's Bundesliga record for Bayern Munich
4️⃣ games
— 90min (@90min_Football) September 16, 2023
4️⃣ goals
Harry Kane has hit the ground running in the Bundesliga! 💫 pic.twitter.com/Vh9W9FpyoR
Date | Result | Harry Kane goals |
|---|---|---|
18/08/23 | Werder Bremen 0-4 Bayern Munich | 1 |
27/08/23 | Bayern Munich 3-1 Augsburg | 2 |
02/09/23 | Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 Bayern Munich | 0 |
15/09/23 | Bayern Munich 2-2 Bayer Leverkusen | 1 |
Ten minutes into the second half, Thomas Muller took a heavy touch inside Leverkusen's box but Kane was alert to the loose ball. Seven yards from goal, Kane whipped his shot towards the bottom corner. Bayern's new number nine wound up in the net but Lukas Hradecky's outstretched boot prevented the ball from joining him.
Manager Thomas Tuchel lamented post-game that his side "need more bite" and Muller name-checked Kane's miss. "We had to score again before the break," the Bayern stalwart bluntly reflected. "Harry Kane had the chance to make it 2-1. After that, we had luck and Ulle [goalkeeper Sven Ulreich] to thank for not going behind." Even the club's official X account was baffled. "What?!" they posted. "Hradecky keeps out Kane somehow."
Kane also saw "room for improvement" but no Bayern player has ever made a more prolific start to life in Germany's top flight.
Miroslav Klose is more closely associated with the German national team than any club side but the all-time leading scorer at the men's World Cup began his Bayern career brilliantly. Back in 2007, Klose was the most recent player to score four goals in his opening quartet of league appearances for the Bavarians. However, he would only find the net six more times across the rest of his debut campaign.
Best scoring starts in the Bundesliga for Bayern Munich
Year | Player | Goals in first four games |
|---|---|---|
1965 | Rainer Ohlhauser | 4 |
1965 | Gerd Muller | 4 |
1987 | Jurgen Wegmann | 4 |
2004 | Paolo Guerrero | 4 |
2007 | Miroslav Klose | 4 |
2023 | Harry Kane | 4 |
Paolo Guerrero is the only other individual to match that scoring feat for Bayern in the 21st century. The Peruvian idol joined Bayern's second team when he was still a teenager before bursting into the senior side with four goals all from the substitute's bench.
Guerrero never established himself in Bavaria but that didn't stop him from having a fascinating career. In fact, when the biopic of his life was released in 2016, it boasted the biggest opening of any Peruvian film at the time. The minutiae of his fast start at Bayern didn't quite make the cut.
Kane has been tasked with filling the boots left by Robert Lewandowski. However, he already has a head-start on the Pole. Lewandowski scored just once across his opening four Bundesliga appearances for Bayern back in 2014.
November had begun with Lewandowski only on four league goals. Adapting from Jurgen Klopp's full throttle at Borussia Dortmund to Pep Guardiola's more measured approach in Munich understandably took a bit of time.
Not all great strikers make a prolific start but the most deadly to ever wear Bayern's shirt did not stutter for long. Bayern's general manager Walter Fembeck arrived at the Muller family home an hour before his counterpart from city rivals 1860 Munich to snag Gerd Muller's signature. The young striker drew a blank in his first two Bundesliga appearances but quickly discovered the scoring touch that would scarcely desert him thereafter, netting back-to-back braces.
Franz Beckenbauer, hardly an insignificant figure himself, lauded Muller as "the most important player in the history of FC Bayern". If Kane's career in Germany is even a fraction as successful as Muller's, he will have done well. So far, he's made a good start.
