Bayern smash Spurs in a pre-season friendly

Just because UEFA gave them the Champions League via a rule (and that rule being that the Europa League winner is automatically qualified), doesn’t mean that Tottenham Hotspur are ready for this competition. They are not. In a friendly game with Bayern Munich, the Spurs were put at their place and thrashed 4-0. It was the first game for Harry Kane against his former club and he ended being the scorer, but also missed the penalty later in the game (first one since 2022), and he was a constant victim of Cristian Romero’s fouls and hard tackles.

On the other hand, few clubs will be able to resist the powerful attacking front consisted of Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman, yet alone Spurs. The Bavarians are now in their second season with coach Vincent Company, and their transition period (if there was any) is over. They are now firing at all cylinders, and are coming from the another Bundesliga winning season (13 points more than the second placed Bayer). On the other side is Tottenham who finished 17th and have a new coach an a bunch of new players. Not to mention that Thomas Frank has a completely different tactical style than former manager Ange Postecoglou.

Kane, who is boyhood club Tottenham's all-time top goalscorer with 280 strikes in 435 matches, put Bayern in the lead after 12 minutes with a composed penalty box finish. The England captain then had a chance to double Bayern's lead two minutes later when Joao Palhinha, who joined Spurs from Bayern on a season-long loan on Sunday, gave away a penalty. Kane however slipped, blasting his shot well over the bar. It was the first time Kane failed to convert a spot kick since his miss in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France. Kingsley Coman added the home side's second with a superb curling shot from the edge of the box with 61 minutes gone. Bayern teenagers Lennart Karl and Jonah Kusi-Asare both scored in the dying stages to complete the one-sided victory.