Harry Kane believes Bayern Munich could have “killed the game off” despite losing 5-4 to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. The England striker scored an early penalty to open the scoring in a nine-goal thriller at the Parc des Princes.
Thrilling Encounter
Bayern took an early lead through Kane’s spot-kick, but PSG responded with goals from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Joao Neves to go ahead. Michael Olise equalised for the Bundesliga champions, but a controversial handball penalty allowed Ousmane Dembele to restore PSG’s lead before half-time. The home side extended their advantage to 5-2, but late strikes from Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz kept Bayern in the tie ahead of next week’s second leg in Munich.
Kane’s Verdict
Speaking to Amazon Prime Video, Kane said: “I think you saw two high-level teams out there today, especially in the attacking play and the transition. The speed and intensity in the 1v1 battles. Two top teams going toe-to-toe.” He added: “Overall, when we look at the goals – a set-piece goal with a penalty is a little harsh if I’m honest – but we had moments where we could have killed the game earlier on. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we got back to 5-4 because away from home, being 5-2 down can be a really tough place to be, but we fought and we clawed and we’re back in the tie.”
Kane dismissed suggestions that neither side could defend, insisting there was “amazing defending” throughout. “Even though there were nine goals scored, I think there was amazing defending throughout the game,” he said. “You’ve got the best players in the world going at it, the best attackers, the best defenders, and of course sometimes the attackers are going to come out on top and show their quality, like both teams did today. I know there were nine goals today, but it’s essentially 1-0 and it’s a tough away game [for PSG]. We go there with nothing to lose, and we’ve just got to bring the same intensity. Us being at home with our crowd behind us at the Allianz Arena, we hope that can push us over the line.”
Kompany Wants More
Bayern boss Vincent Kompany echoed Kane’s sentiments and called for an even greater performance in the second leg. When asked about defensive issues, Kompany replied: “I would say what do you want? I think you’ve seen a lot of good defending today, intense duels, it’s just that the margins are so little. You only have two ways – the first one is to go full, or the second one is to retreat fully. The in-between doesn’t work against that level of players, and the in-between doesn’t work against our level of players.”
Looking ahead to the return leg at the Allianz Arena, Kompany said: “More. Even more. We’re at home, we’ll have 75,000 people in that stadium. We don’t just want noise, we want mass, a weight in the stadium, and we’ll need it. Then it’s a place where anything can happen. It’s not a ground that is shy of successful moments for this team.”
