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Harry Kane, who has arguably had his best career, returns to north London on Wednesday to face Arsenal, who have shifted into a deeper position.

The England captain has become a more complete player at Bayern, taking on more creative and defensive duties, despite always being a consistent goalscorer.

Bayern’s remarkable start to the campaign is largely due to the 32-year-old’s form.

Kane has played every match of each of their 18 games this season, winning 17 and drawing one of the others.

Kane may hold the key to unlocking the Gunners’ stingy defense, having scored 15 goals in 21 games for Arsenal.

The only Champions League team to have won this season is Mikel Arteta’s side. Arsenal has scored just six goals in the Premier League, which is the best result among the top five leagues in Europe.

Kane has scored 24 goals in his first 18 Bayern games and five goals overall for England this campaign.

However, Kane’s weight of numbers only serves to illustrate this season’s narrative.

Kane has frequently been used by Bayern coach Vincent Kompany as a creative midfielder, sitting behind either Serge Gnabry or Nicolas Jackson, and has always been willing to dip deep.

Jamal Musiala has been out with a broken ankle since the Club World Cup, whether by design or necessity, so Kane’s game has been sparked by the move.

After Saturday’s come-from-behind 6-2 victory over Freiburg, Kane said, “I know I’m not just a goal-scorer.” I can make a team feel more comfortable by passing through one-on-one situations and removing the pressure.

Because I’m just more active, I’ve enjoyed my football more than this. We play in a way that I adore. No fear, just a really aggressive style.

I enjoy blocking shots, helping the team out, and all of that, too.

I’m going to be judged on my goals, of course, but I think people will appreciate some of my other efforts, especially this one this year. ”

With Luis Diaz, who scored both of Bayern’s goals in 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Kane will have to bear a little more of the scoring load. Diaz was sent off three Champions League games for a tackle on Achraf Hakimi, who received both of his goals.

Additionally, outstanding Olise lifts Bayern to victory in the Bundesliga with eight points.

‘Very well-known territory’  

Kane left Tottenham in 2023 after being cut by Arsenal’s rivals in north London as a child. He then joined Bayern.

Kane said on Saturday, “I was there for a couple of years and got released,” but he did not use the rejection as a motivating factor.

It is integral to the development of football. That was long ago, 20 years ago.

Since then, we have made significant progress. ”

Kane scored a penalty for Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals against Arsenal in 2023-24.

For me, it’s a lot of ground. It gives the game a little more depth because Tottenham has been around for so long, according to Kane.

One of Arsenal’s greatest assets is that they are vulnerable to set-pieces, which they are, but they are flying high.

In their last two games, Bayern have conceded four goals, all of which came on set plays.

This season, Arsenal have scored 24 goals in the Premier League, including 10 from set pieces.

Kompany acknowledged that his side had a “issue” with absurd circumstances, saying, “Everyone saw it. You can’t hide it. The analysts for Arsenal will also notice it.

We must display personality, character, and defend those things. But I can trust our side. ”

On the eve of Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Barcelona on Tuesday, Enzo Maresca has minimized comparisons between Estevao and Lamine Yamal, two rival teenagers.

Estevao, 18, has scored nine goals for both club and country since arriving at Stamford Bridge in July.

At his pre-game press conference on Monday, Chelsea manager Maresca was asked if Yamal, who is only three months younger than Estevao, would serve as a good role model for his team.

The Italian claimed that despite his tender years, the Brazilian had already established himself at the top.

Estevao is already playing well; He is already with Brazil’s starting eleven. He is undoubtedly very young; We are very pleased with him, Maresca told reporters. “He can do many things better.

Estevao, Lamine Yamal, and (Barcelona midfielder) Pedri are both admirable footballers, according to the article. He continued, “This is the beauty of football.”

Estevao must cut out the noise, according to Maresca.

He will undoubtedly play an important role for this club. Without a doubt, for the future.

He must be content, he says. He is not required to consider whether he is superior to either this player or the other player.

He simply needs to improve every day. He advised people to work hard and get better.

Chelsea forward Cole Palmer was reportedly recovering from a toe injury, but Maresca noted that it was unlikely he would face Barcelona or Arsenal over the weekend.

Cole is wearing a protective boot. He won’t be back, but it will undoubtedly be soon, we know.

Maresca said, “He’s already on the pitch, he’s already touching the ball, and the feeling is good for him.”

Chelsea lead the league standings of Barcelona with seven points after four games, which ranks them 11th overall.

Maresca claimed that Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, who were twice champions of Europe while he was Manchester City manager between 2008 and 2012, had had a significant impact on him.

According to Maresca, “I made the decision to work for Pep’s team, Barcelona, years ago,”

I’ve said it many times that any club, any team can choose the way they want to play, even if clubs or teams choose a different style. I made the decision years ago, and I’m looking forward to watching my team play football and also in the future. ”

In a 4-1 defeat of Tottenham in the north London derby, which helped bolster the Premier League leaders’ title defense on Sunday, Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze delivered a brilliant hat-trick.

Leandro Trossard and Eze scored the opening goals for Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium, but Mikel Arteta’s side were too strong for them.

Eze struck once more in the second half, spurning Tottenham’s attempts to move to Arsenal in the final few weeks of the season.

Eze’s superb treble put the Gunners six points clear at the top, but Richarlison’s incredible long-range goal reduced the deficit.

After Ted Drake, Terry Dyson, and Alan Sunderland, it was only the fourth north London derby hat-trick.

Sunderland’s late equalizer before the international break ended Arsenal’s 10-game winning streak.

However, Eze’s best performance since moving from Crystal Palace for £60 million ($78 million) made Tottenham’s record-breaking defeat at the Emirates once more.

In 33 home games against bitter rivals from the other end of Seven Sisters Road, The Gunners have lost just once, going unbeaten in the last seven north London derbies.

Read more about Chelsea’s sinking of Burnley to close the gap between Arsenal and Chelsea.

The perfect start to a crucial season, which included a visit from Bayern Munich on Wednesday before a trip to second-placed Chelsea the following weekend, was Arsenal’s biggest win over Tottenham since 2012.

Arsenal’s 15-game unbeaten run in all competitions enabled them to capitalize on Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle on Saturday.

Arsenal have a fantastic chance to win their first English title since 2004 now that City is raging and champions Liverpool are in turmoil.

Tottenham’s best away record came with the Premier League, but the sluggish conclusion of their five-game unbeaten run on the road rekindled concerns about Thomas Frank’s anti-social philosophy.

It was noted that Tottenham might have a potential weakness if they didn’t get to use Gabriel Magalhaes, an injured Arsenal player.

Tottenham’s approach to the Arsenal penalty area was hardly ever enough to refute that theory.

Tottenham was urged to embrace the “controlled chaos” of a “madhouse” derby by Frank.

However, the Dane’s conservative style and his decision to use five defenders caused chaos in his overburdened rearguard, which he had struggled to win over Tottenham supporters.

Eze argues his point.

Tottenham wasted time on throw-ins and goal-kicks, determined to take the sting out of the game.

In the 36th minute, Arteta’s men, who were more advanced in their passing and movement, deservedly took the lead.

In place of Viktor Gyokeres who was injured, Mikel Merino was once more used as a makeshift striker, but the Spain midfielder plunged deep into more familiar territory to give Trossard the lead.

Trossard was picked out by Merino after a sublime pass was made over the Tottenham rearguard. Kevin Danso, who was agitated, played him onside.

Trossard made a smart turn and found a shot that deflected past Guglielmo Vicario from 10 yards.

Eze would be turning out for Tottenham if Tottenham had their way in the summer, but Arsenal brokered a deal with Palace to sign the England star at the eleventh hour.

Who is Eze, Frank joked? when questioned about the failed move this week.

In the 41st minute, Eze took Declan Rice’s pass in stride and drilled a fine low finish past Vicario.

At the end of the game, Frank sent Xavi Simons to Danso, but it was irrelevant whether Tottenham had signed Xavi or Eze instead.

Tottenham’s flat-footed defense was punished by Eze’s predatory finish with a predatory finish just inside the area just 35 seconds after half-time.

When Richarlison lobbed David Raya with a majestic effort from 35 yards in the 55th minute, the crowing Arsenal fans were briefly silenced.

Manchester City’s challenge for the title was denied by Newcastle when Harvey Barnes scored twice to force a contentious 2-1 victory on Saturday.

Ruben Dias scored the visitors’ equalizer before Pep Guardiola’s side went ahead of Barnes in the second half at St James’ Park.

Newcastle’s contentious second goal, which was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR check for a potential offside against Bruno Guimaraes, was scored moments after Dias levelled.

Additionally, Phil Foden’s claim of a first-half penalty angered Guardiola.

Fourth-placed Arsenal are four points clear of City, who host Tottenham on Sunday, following their fourth league defeat this year.

Guardiola said it was too soon to discuss the title race for this week, but the City manager will be extremely disappointed if he doesn’t get to press Arsenal.

With a 3-0 victory over troubled champions Liverpool, City recorded seven victories from eight games in total before the international break.

However, they wasted that momentum in an error-filled display on Tyneside, where Erling Haaland was held without a goal for the third time this season between City and Norway.

Since joining Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Haaland was hoping to get his 100th league goal in his 109th game.

However, he squandered several chances, and Newcastle capitalized on that to defeat City for the second time in their last 36 league encounters.

Before the international break, Eddie Howe’s first victory over City in 19 top-flight outings helped Newcastle recover from successive league defeats at Brentford and West Ham.

Gianluigi Donnarumma, a City keeper, nearly gave Newcastle the lead with a terrible pass that Barnes intercepted, but the winger’s 10-yard direct shot at the Italian wasted the chance.

Read more about Sesko leaving for Man United for “For A Few Weeks.”

Profligate City

After Jeremy Doku’s pass, Haaland reacted by hurling himself out of his area and scuffing his attempt to chip over Nick Pope in an equally bad miss moments later.

Donnarumma superbly prevented Nick Woltemade’s header from Tino Livramento’s cross, which Newcastle were denied.

Foden blazed wide in a good position inside the area after Fabian Schar had forced him to endure a painful tackle in the same incident. He later appealed in vain for a penalty.

When Doku’s shot was blocked with his arm, Foden and City’s coaching staff became furious with the decision.

After bursting through on goal, Donnarumma and Woltemade made a second duo, winning the match.

Barnes made the worst mistake of finishing him poorly by shooting wide from close range with the goal at his mercy in the second half.

Even Haaland was off the mark when Pope was volleyed straight at him from five yards with Nico O’Reilly’s cross.

The unmarked Foden, who drew wide from Rayan Cherki’s pass just before half-time, was remarkable.

After Guimaraes’ run and pass broke open the defense, Barnes finally made amends for his earlier errors by finishing well in the 64th minute. Lashing a low drive past Donnarumma from the edge of the area, City finally cracked.

Only four minutes into Guardiola’s men’s lead.

Dias’ powerful 12 yard deflected in off Schar as Bernardo Silva’s shot was blocked in his direction.

However, Howe’s side responded right away with Dias’ first league goal since he scored it at Newcastle four years ago.

Guimaraes nodded against the bar as Woltemade directed his header past the goal, and Barnes tapped in for a rebound that Barnes could not recover.

The lengthy VAR check for offside against Guimaraes appeared to favor City, but it ultimately ended up in Newcastle’s favor thanks to the Magpies’ cherished victory.

Bayern Munich defeated Freiburg 6-2 at home in the Bundesliga on Saturday after Michael Olise scored twice and added three goals.

Lennart Karl, Dayot Upamecano, and Nicolas Jackson each scored goals for Bayern, who had already trailed with early goals from Yuito Suzuki and Johan Manzambi. Harry Kane also scored as Bayern started to move in the direction of gear.

Borussia Dortmund lost points at home to Stuttgart, leaving Bayern with eight points at the top of the table.

We conceded twice from set pieces, Karl said to Sky Germany.

“But then we recovered,” with six goals scored. In the end, everything turned out as planned.

Aleksander Pavlovic, the Bayern midfielder who scored Kane’s goal, praised the 17-year-old Karl, saying, “I’ve never seen a player at his age with such self-assurance. It’s great to play with him, and he’s an amazing player.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany shuffled his deck with the intention of attending Arsenal on Wednesday, resting Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich, the starting captain.

Suzuki and Manzambi both scored from set pieces to give Freiburg two, but the move appeared to have had a negative impact early.

Karl, a teenager winger, collected an Olise pass and slid home with Bayern in a burst. The starlet then gave Bayern the lead with a deflected shot that went wide from close range for Olise, repaying the favor.

Bayern opened the scoring with Upamecano taping into an Olise corner shortly after Karl had already had a goal offended for offside.

Read more about Sesko leaving for Man United for “For A Few Weeks.”

With only 30 minutes left, Kane scored from close range for Bayern’s fourth. This season, the England captain has scored 14 goals from 11 league games, totaling 24 total.

The defending German champions, who have only lost two points in 18 matches so far this season, put together a fifth-round comeback with Olise, who then added a late goal to round out the comeback.

Deniz Undav, a visiting German striker, scored a hat-trick in the second half of a 3-3 home draw against Stuttgart, which gave Borussia Dortmund the lead twice before being pushed back twice.

Dortmund were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to an Emre Can penalty and a Maximilian Beier tap-in. Serhou Guirassyy’s home striker Serhou Guirassy was sent off for offside, and Undav added two goals.

Dortmund hoped to have won when Karim Adeyemi scored on the counter in stoppage time, but Undav added a hat-trick in stoppage time in the dying seconds to earn a point.

Stuttgart has lost five games and drawn two of their final two matches since Dortmund last lost to them in October 2022.

In another game, Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 away at Wolfsburg thanks to the goals of Jonas Hofmann, Edmond Tapsoba, and Malik Tillman.

Leverkusen moved into second place after beating Stuttgart and Dortmund. Under coach Kasper Hjulmand, who replaced Erik ten Hag after just two league games, Erik ten Hag has now scored 22 of the possible 27 points.

Augsburg defeated Hamburg 1-0 at home, and Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 3-0 victory extended the reign of Heidenheim’s woes further.

Later on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt was promoted to Cologne.

Following two and a half years in exile, Barcelona triumphantly defeated Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to share the top spot in La Liga.

The Spanish champions had intended to reopen the stadium a year ago, but construction problems forced them to wait until afterward.

Robert Lewandowski gave the opener with a brace, and Ferran Torres added a pair. Oihan Sancet was sent off in the second half, but Fermin Lopez also struck in a consoling victory over Athletic.

Real Madrid and Hansi Flick’s side both won the match at the top of the table. On Sunday, Los Blancos travel to Elche.

More than 45 000 fans filled the three stands that had been opened before and after the game, which Barca did.

Despite exorbitant costs, the game was essentially sold out. By 2026, Barcelona hopes to have a capacity of 105, 000 for the entire season.

After the goalkeeper had missed the previous nine games with injuries, Flick was able to name Joan Garcia. Garcia assisted the team in maintaining its first consecutive clean sheets since September.

Fans were able to celebrate the team’s first goal at the new stadium after much longer than anticipated upon their return to Camp Nou.

In the fourth minute, veteran striker Lewandowski, sporting the captain’s armband, opened the scoring.

Lewandowski beat Unai Simon with a powerful low strike from Eric Garcia, who was playing in midfield in place of Frenkie de Jong, who was suspended.

Lewandowski scored his eighth league goal of his injury-hit, stop-start season by holding the ball out when the Basque goalkeeper had a hand to it and should have kept it out.

Lionel Messi, a legendary player from Barca, made an impromptu visit to the newly renovated stadium a few weeks ago, and the crowd sang his name in the 10th minute, noting Barca’s glittering past as they ushered in a new era.

The away fans also made it clear that they had no intention of forgetting Nico Williams’ decision to leave for Spain and that they would continue to whistle Spain forward whenever they could.

Barca almost had a second playing Fermin Lopez, but Simon saved his effort and fired a narrowly wide.

In the first half, former Barca coach Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic made life difficult for them at times without creating too much of a risk.

Read more about Sesko leaving for Man United for “For A Few Weeks.”

Torres at Double ,

Unai Gomez, a collegiate forward, fired over and hit a cross that Williams missed before Barca doubled their lead at half-time.

Lamine Yamal played Torres through with the outside of his boot, and Simon, who once more had a chance to keep the shot out, beat him.

The Catalan giants again struck early in the second half with a superbly executed Lopez-finishing effort from Lopez.

Athletic’s miserable afternoon got worse when Sancet, a midfielder, reprimanded after a VAR review after punching down Lopez in frustration.

On a strong back-to-back, Joan Garcia tapped Dani Vivian’s header past the line.

Raphinha, a Brazilian winger, was replaced in the second half by Flick after an injury spell. Within a few seconds of being introduced, he whipped a shot narrowly wide.

When Yamal made another superb pass to Torres, the former Manchester City forward, tucked away his second, Barca finished off a fantastic afternoon back at home.