Hat-trick hero Harry Kane reflects on ‘strange’ career first – with Bayern Munich striker revealing secrets to goalscoring skill that is helping to inflate his numbers

The England international has been emulating the efforts of Manchester City frontman Erling Haaland of late, picking up match balls in each of his last two appearances for Bayern. His first treble was recorded in a Bundesliga mauling of Holstein Kiel.

Kane repeated the trick, while also going one better as he netted four times in total, when helping to inflict a 9-2 hammering on Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League. Three of the 31-year-old’s efforts that day came from the penalty spot.

On bagging a hat-trick from 12 yards, Kane told reporters: “I practice my penalties a lot, I have the same routine, but even for me it was strange to take three in one game. It was the first time I’ve done that but I just had to do what I always do. I’ve changed my process a bit. 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.”

Kane has overtaken Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney as the highest-scoring Englishman in Champions League competition, as he now has 33 strikes to his name, and added on mastering the art of converting from the spot: “People sometimes take penalties for granted, but they can be a really important part of the game when the game’s tied and can be the difference in big games.”

Kane has now scored 13 penalties for Bayern, with those efforts helping to inflate impressive overall figures that now stand at 53 goals through 50 appearances. He is hoping that strike rate helps to land elusive major silverware in 2024-25.