Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany is hoping Harry Kane recovers in time from an injury in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen for their second Champions League game next week at Aston Villa.
Kane, who did not have a shot against Leverkusen, was injured in a collision late in the match at the Allianz Arena and was in obvious pain before he limped off the pitch. Bayern stayed top of the Bundesliga after a long-range strike from Robert Andrich for the visitors was cancelled out by another from Aleksandar Pavlovic in the 39th minute.
Bayern are also top of the table in the new Champions League format, having beaten Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in their first game where Kane scored four times. Villa are fourth in the standings.
“I’m not a doctor, but I hope it’s nothing serious. It’s still early to say. Hopefully he’ll be fit for Wednesday,” Kompany told Sky Sports. Bayern sporting director Max Eberl was not optimistic, saying the injury “doesn’t look good” for Kane, who leads the Bundesliga scoring charts and has 10 goals in all competitions this season. “If Harry goes off the pitch, then it’s something,” Eberl said. “Now I hope he’s made of sturdy English wood.”
Leverkusen made things difficult for Bayern with a superb defensive performance to end the home side’s perfect start to the season but Kompany still saw positives from the game.
“As a Bayern coach, you always want to win. But the performance was as we’d hoped. The counter-pressing was positive, we won the second balls, we created so many chances,” the Belgian coach said. “Normally in such a game, you don’t create many chances, but we did. It was a top game but there are still many games to go. We just have to keep going.”
The result leaves Bayern with 13 points after five games – two points clear of RB Leipzig at the top of the standings – while Leverkusen are third with 10 points.
Bayern finished the game with 18 shots compared with three for Leverkusen, but in the end Xabi Alonso’s determined side saw out the game. Such was their staunch defence that Kane failed to have a shot as a starter in a league game for the first time in three years.
Bayern dominated possession in the opening stages, with Jamal Musiala regularly finding gaps in the defence, while Leverkusen did not get a chance to test Manuel Neuer in the first half hour. But with their first chance in the 31st minute, Granit Xhaka controlled a corner kick with his chest and set up Andrich outside the box, with the German’s sweeping low shot drilled through a crowd of players into the bottom corner.
“We deserved more because we were clearly the better team,” Neuer told Sky Germany. “We had the better chances. The goal we conceded was very annoying.”
The lead did not last long, however. A poor clearance fell to Pavlovic and the midfielder pulled the trigger from 25 metres with a half volley that brushed the fingertips of goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky as it sailed into the top corner.
“We can live with a point, better than Bayern. Defensive work was our top priority today. On a good day, Lukas saves Alex’s shot,” Andrich said.
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But it was redemption for Pavlovic as it was his misplaced pass that led to the Leverkusen corner from which they scored the opener. “I’m happy with the performance, we dominated them and barely conceded any chances. I was very happy and emotional after my goal,” he said.
Serge Gnabry had two golden opportunities to make it 2-1 early in the second half when the unmarked winger received a cross from Kane, but his first shot came off the far post while his second shaved the crossbar as he sank to his knees.
Bayern continued to dominate the game as Leverkusen were pegged back, while Musiala was left frustrated when he did not win a penalty when jostling with Xhaka for the ball in the box.
Kane hobbled off in the dying stages after a collision with Amine Adli and he was replaced by Thomas Müller, who went down in the box under pressure from Edmond Tapsoba but Bayern did not get a penalty as the two teams shared the spoils.
Elsewhere, second-placed RB Leipzig thrashed Augsburg 4-0 at home with Benjamin Sesko striking twice in the first 15 minutes before Loïs Openda and Xavi Simons added goals in the second half.
Tomas Cvancara’s 96th-minute winner saw Mönchengladbach past Union Berlin while 10-man Stuttgart left it even later, Denis Undav levelling in the 97th minute to deny Wolfsburg victory in a tumultuous 2-2 draw.
St Pauli earned their first victory of the season as Elias Saad scored twice in a surprise 3-0 win at Freiburg, while Heidenheim are up to fifth after winning 2-0 at Mainz.
Source: theguardian.com
