Bayern Munich Advance After 2-1 Victory Over Galatasaray

Bayern Munich has beaten Galatasaray 2-1 not just to advance but also win Group A in the Champions League with two games to go. The German giants have reached the knockout stage for the 20th time, which is second only to Real Madrid (21 times), and further extend their group stage unbeaten run to 38 games.

It is an impressive record, but on balance, the result against Galatasaray wouldn’t have been possible without star striker Harry Kane. The English captain scored both goals (80’ & 86’) in a game in which Galatasaray looked like the more likely side to win the game. But it was against the run of play when Kane popped up to score a header off a Joshua Kimmich freekick and then six minutes later secured the win from a fantastic assist by Mathys Tel.

Those two goals mean Kane has now scored 19 goals in just 15 games across all competitions for Bayern Munich this season. According to Opta, Kane’s four goals in his first four Champions League games equalizes a club record set by Roy Makaay in the 2003/04 season. Furthermore, according to Transfermarkt, the English captain has now scored every 66 minutes and has been directly involved in 55% of Bayern Munich’s goals this season.

In other words, Kane has been worth every penny of the over $100 million Bayern Munich paid to Tottenham. “There’s always a lot that goes into the transfer, on and off the field,” Kane said to UEFA.com when asked about his transfer to Munich and his adjustment to Bayern. “So, of course, there’s always a bit more pressure and expectation, but I’ve been delighted with the start, obviously. It’s down to the team, too. The team is playing really well, and I’ve got amazing players around me to set me up and give me chances.”

Although Kane was seemingly happy with his brace, the English captain also admitted that Galatasaray was a formidable opponent. “It was a tough game,” Kane said to UEFA.com after the match. “We expected another tough game. The away leg was very similar. I thought we controlled the game better this time. Especially in the first half, we got into the final third in transition we just lacked the final pass or final finish. We knew in the second half we just had to keep that momentum.”

That observation was backed by Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel, who felt that his side lacked both accuracy and efficiency in front of goal for the first half. “The way we finished our attacks against Dortmund was missing today,” Tuchel said after the game. “It was a close game, I’m very happy with the energy and determination we’ve shown today. Overall, we deserved the win and are happy to have reached the knockout stage.”

While Bayern was brutally efficient against their rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, against Galatasaray, Tuchel’s side failed to get the early breakthrough. Instead, it was Galatasaray who thought they had scored when Lucas Torreira scored from a Mauro Icardi assist. But Icardi was offside in the buildup, and Bayern was off the hook.

In fact, in some ways, this game was very similar to the return leg, where Galatasaray was also the better team. This time, they huffed and puffed until the 80th minute, then Kane scored twice within six minutes, securing Bayern the victory, extending the unbeaten run and a spot in the knockout stages. Indeed, it is that sort of performance that underlines why Bayern paid a club-record fee to secure Kane last summer.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth