Kane resumes battle with Rudiger as Madrid, Bayern clash
BAYERN Munich’s Harry Kane will be up against Antonio A Rudiger of Real Madrid as the serial winners resume their battle for the 2023/ 24 UEFA Champions League semifinals ticket. Record 14- time Champions League winners, Real Madrid, face six- time champions, Bayern Munich, today, at the Santiago Bernabeu after the 2- 2 draw in the first leg last week. Apart from the battle of goalkeepers’ Lunin ( Madrid) and Neuer ( Bayern), football fans will be on the lookout for the expected clash between Harry Kane and Madrid’s defender, Rudiger. German defensive rock Rudiger will once again be tasked with containing Kane, something he did rather well in Munich, although the England striker converted a penalty.
With Rudiger patrolling Kane could be tempted to drop a little deeper to play in Bayern’s speedy wingers.
In a strong position to win the Golden Shoe for top European scorer — he has 36 goals in the Bundesliga — Kane is battling with Kylian Mbappe to finish top of the Champions League scoring charts too. Both have scored eight goals.
The England captain is also in search of the first trophy of his career, at the age of 30, which he dreams of winning back in his homeland at Wembley. mmin the first leg, the danger always came from the wingers, for both teams.
German duo Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala, who scored and created Bayern’s two goals respectively, and Brazilian sharpshooters Rodrygo and Vinicius can blow the game wide open with their explosive pace and skill. Each did their part to give the opposition defence a torrid evening. Vinicius, playing more centrally, blazed into space behind Kim Min- jae to strike, and Sane burst back into form with a fine individual goal after leaving Ferland Mendy for dead.