How does Harry Kane score his penalties for Bayern Munich?
After placing a hat-trick of penalties in the exact same corner in Bayern Munich’s 9-2 UEFA Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, Harry Kane underlined his reputation as a spot-kick expert.
So how does he take his penalties? bundesliga.com looked back through the footage for clues...
Kane’s treble from the spot means he has now taken – and scored – 13 penalties for Bayern since joining the club in summer 2023, comprising seven in the Bundesliga and six in the Champions League.
Variety and unpredictability has been key to that success. His first for Bayern arrived against Augsburg on 27 August 2023, a cool clip down the middle with goalkeeper Finn Dahmen diving off to his left.
But Kane has not repeated that technique since then. Instead, his pattern has been to put two penalties to the goalkeeper’s right, then two to the left, then two to the right again.
That sequence was true for his spot-kicks two to 11 at Bayern, with the 31-year-old only breaking the routine against Dinamo when he place them all to the goalkeeper’s right.
Watch: Kane and Bayern off to a flier in 2024/2
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“I practise my penalties a lot, I have the same routine, but even for me it was strange to take three in one game,” Kane told the media after the Dinamo win. “It was the first time I’ve done that but I just had to do what I always do.”
That is not to say, however, that he always takes them the same way. His preferred method is to arrow the ball to the goalkeeper’s right, hard, low and right into the bottom corner. He has scored this way five times; three in the Bundesliga and two in the Champions League.
He also likes to wait for the goalkeeper to make the first move. Opting for a slow run-up when choosing this method, Kane keeps an eye on the keeper and then passes the ball in the opposite direction.
Watch: Kane on his penalty taking routine
“I’ve changed my process a bit,” Kane confirmed on Tuesday. “Some of them I’ll decide in the moment, some of them I’ll decide the day before the game. Sometimes I now wait for the goalkeeper to take a step because then becomes harder for him to make a save.”
The England international tends to save this technique for the Champions League, using it four times in Europe and just once in the Bundesliga. Three of those spot-kicks have gone to the goalkeeper’s left, but placed – rather than smashed – into the open net, and not into the corner.
The Bayern frontman’s remaining two penalties have been low to the goalkeeper’s left, choosing this option against Leipzig and Stuttgart in the Bundesliga last season.
Knowing what he does is one thing. But trying to keep his efforts out is another matter entirely.
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