Kane keen to rekindle London rivalry vs Chelsea

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Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane said facing English opposition “makes me want to play better” ahead of Wednesday’s home Champions League opener against Chelsea.

Speaking to reporters in Munich on Tuesday, the 32-year-old former Spurs striker said his historic rivalry with Chelsea would add a little more spice to the showdown.

“The rivalry was a good rivalry, especially early in my Tottenham career in the (Mauricio) Pochettino era. We had a lot of good games, tough games against each other,” Kane said.

Kane faced London rivals Chelsea 22 times in all competitions with Tottenham, winning seven times and scoring eight goals, before moving to Bayern in 2023.

The England captain broke through for a maiden team trophy last season when Bayern won the Bundesliga but said he saved extra motivation for English sides.

“I think playing against Premier League opposition there’s always a little more expectation around the game. Maybe the Chelsea fans don’t like me as much and when we play Arsenal, maybe the Arsenal fans don’t like me as much.

“That makes me want to play better, that motivates me. There will be some familiar faces — all those things added together brings a little something special.”

Kane has scored 93 goals in 101 games in all competitions for Bayern and said he was surprised by his record since moving to Germany.

“I don’t think I expected it. I always back myself to score goals but I didn’t know how it would go.

“The style suits me well. I’ve got a lot of confidence right now and I’m physically and mentally strong.”

Kane rejected suggestions from club powerbroker Uli Hoeness that the six-time Champions League winners were underdogs in Europe this year.

“When you’re at a club like Bayern Munich, there’s an expectation to win the best competitions — and the Champions League especially.

“Ultimately, if we don’t win it, there’s always going to be a bit of disappointment so I wouldn’t say we’re underdogs.”

This summer, Bayern brought in Luis Diaz and Nicolas Jackson from the Premier League, the latter coming from Wednesday’s oppponents Chelsea.

The duo were two of the few players swimming against a tide of big-money signings moving to England from the Bundesliga.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany on Tuesday repeated his concern about the imbalance.

“Obviously there’s a big financial gap between the Premier League and other leagues,” Kompany said.

“We have to think about how we solve that one day. The Bundesliga has a lot of talent and English sides have bought a lot of players from here.

“But tomorrow is not about Bundesliga versus Premier League.”

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: FC Bayern München-Pool/Getty Images

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