After bumper schedule: Bayern overcome Kiel and look forward

Those at the Allianz Arena who wanted a bit more time to get drinks or were planning a toilet trip for the half-time break in the Bundesliga match between Bayern and Holstein Kiel risked missing something historic. Both in added time of the first half and inside the first minute of the second period, Harry Kane scored with his head. They were the Englishman's 54th and 55th goals in his 50th Bundesliga appearance, surpassing Erling Haaland's record (50 goals in his first 50 games) by five goals.

"It means a lot to me," said the record breaker after the match. "Obviously strikers are always judged on goals, but without these great team-mates it wouldn't be possible." Kane's brace made it 3-0 to Bayern and it looked for all the world like the Munich men would convert their dominance into a clear win against the Bundesliga newcomers. But that's not how it turned out – and Kane's double took on added importance. "The goals before and immediately after half-time were crucial for us," continued Kane. When referee Florian Exner blew the full-time whistle, the scoreboard showed a narrow 4-3 victory for FCB, and the underdogs from Kiel had come close to snatching a point from Munich.

Musiala: 'Mustn't ease off'

"None of us is happy it ended 4-3," said Jamal Musiala, who challenged himself and his team-mates. "Even if we're up several goals, we shouldn't ease off." Christoph Freund saw it similarly: "It was unnecessary to make the game so exciting again, the feeling after the match is different this way. It's important we won, but we must stay focused and hungry over 90 minutes and impose our game. We didn't achieve that but still claimed an important victory," said the sporting director.

Michel Olise was made painfully aware in the early stages of the match against the promoted side that Bayern would face unpleasant opponents in Kiel. After a kick from Lewis Holtby, the young Frenchman limped across the pitch for a short time and then had to be treated. Fortunately for Bayern, however, both feet remained intact and Olise was able to use them to his advantage in the game. In the 19th minute, the winger cut back from the byline to Musiala, who slotted the ball into the far corner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. 

Bayern had everything under control

Bayern continued to dictate play and could've extended their lead. A free kick from Joshua Kimmich crashed against the post (25') before a powerful shot from Aleksandar Pavlović (33') was tipped away from the top corner by the impressive Kiel goalkeeper Timon Weiner. The visitors, however, showed they believed in their chances. On the counter, Holtby beat Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal but Minjae Kim rescued his keeper just in front of the line.

Kane's brace followed and then Serge Gnabry also found the target with a fine strike to make it 4-0 in the 54th minute. It all seemed to be going to plan for the German record champions. The fact that Finn Porath reduced the deficit shortly after the hour mark was bearable. Yet as the game wore on, Bayern increasingly allowed Kiel to get into it. "We put in a good display for large spells but ruined the game a bit," captain Neuer summarised the final half-hour. At the end of a gruelling period, in the last of seven fixtures within just 22 days, the team had to dig in to prevent worse from happening. Thankfully, despite Steven Skrzybski's brace for the north Germans in stoppage time, the Bavarians held on for the three points.

Kane: 'February will be important'

"We'll have to analyse the last ten minutes with the team," said head coach Vincent Kompany at his post-match press conference. He and his players will, unusually, have lots of time to do that now. For the first time since the end of the winter break, Bayern have more than three days to prepare for their next opponents. The fact that the next Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen is also at the Allianz Arena also means FCB are spared any travelling. "We now have a week to train. We're in a good position to tackle the next few weeks," added Kompany. So, plenty of time to recharge the batteries and recover a little before the crucial Champions League play-offs in mid-February, as Kane also underlined: "February will be very important for us, with many games against strong opponents. We have to be ready for that. We'll need the full squad for it."

Harry Kane was awarded the 2024 Goal of the Year on Saturday: