While one player continued his impressive series, the other celebrated the end of a long wait. In a hard-fought 2-2 draw in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid, Harry Kane and Leroy Sané turned the match around for Bayern Munich within five minutes and made sure everything is still possible for Bayern in the second leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in eight days.
After the fans at the Allianz Arena had witnessed Real Madrid take the lead with their first real chance of the game despite a strong performance by Munich, it was Sané who let the stadium breathe a sigh of relief. With a beautiful feint, the winger left Real's defender's behind him and hammered an unstoppable shot into the bottom left corner. It was Sané's second goal in the competition this term and his first competitive goal for Bayern since the Bundesliga duel with Darmstadt at the end of October.
Tuchel: Sané came through
"We fielded him although he had no rhythm," said head coach Thomas Tuchel after the recently injured attacker had only been able to train individually during this past week. "In the second half, he had one decisive scene and he came through," the coach explained. Thanks to Sané's outburst, the home team now had the momentum on their side and an opportunity to take the lead only a few minutes later following a strong solo run by Jamal Musiala which the Real defence was only able to stop with a foul.
It was the moment to step up for Harry Kane, the man who just can't stop scoring. The Englishman calmly buried the penalty (57') and thus recorded his fourth goal in the past three games for Bayern. His eighth goal this Champions League campaign means he is now joint top scorer with Kylian Mbappé, his 11th goal involvement marked a new record for an English football player. In the end, however, strong performances by Harry Kane and Leroy Sané weren't enough to beat Real Madrid, even if these two players alone had nearly as many shots on goal (8) as the entire away side (9). A late penalty goal for Real Madrid was the last in a Champions League semi-final which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Kane: Ready for an amazing game
"Of course the initial feeling is disappointment. We had the momentum on our side, and once we were 2-1 up, we had two or three good chances. A third goal would have been possible," Kane said after the final whistle, adding: "We're ready for an amazing game away at Madrid next week. I'm looking forward to it." With an on-form attacking duo, everything is possible.
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