Harry Kane teaches Germany about 'swaz' in challenge to Erling Haaland! Brits Abroad winners & losers as Jobe Bellingham faces family crisis while Jamie Vardy's Italian job takes a wrong turn

Harry Kane is slacking. Saturday's return of only one goal in Bayern Munich's 3-0 win away at Eintracht Frankfurt was the first time he failed to register multiple contributions in a Bundesliga game this season. A long dry spell surely awaits the England captain.

In all seriousness, the former Tottenham striker seems to be getting better as he gets older, now possessing great wisdom at the age of 32 and accumulating greater leverage than ever when it comes to contract negotiations. With head coach Vincent Kompany needing to reshuffle his frontline in recent weeks to contend with a gruelling schedule and fitness concerns, Kane has leant more into his selfless side, dropping deeper in order to free up space for loan signing Nicolas Jackson to move into. With Jamal Musiala still working his way back from injury, there's been more of a need for Bayern's No.9 to take the creative reins.

"I've spoken already about when Jamal's playing it's a little bit different. Jamal is such a good player, getting the ball off defenders, driving and dribbling," Kane said post-match. "Obviously a lot last year when we were playing together, it was better for him to go and do that. I still did that at times. I think since me and Serge [Gnabry], and me and Nico [Jackson] have been forming that partnership this season, it's allowed me to just be a little bit deeper and use my qualities in that sense of turning and playing it forward and playing it out wide, and then arriving into the box a little bit later. Which also helps. Sometimes when you're playing up there as a nine, it's easy to be marked, to be marked out of the game almost. Even my goal today, arriving a little bit late, I finished it off."

Kane's goal came 27 minutes into the contest at Deutsche Bank Park, sandwiched in between a brace from Luis Diaz. Picking up the ball from the Colombian around 20 yards from goal, the centre forward let fly with a driven shot which nestled right on the very inside of the net, giving goalkeeper Kaua Santos no chance. In an interview with ESPN's Archie Rhind-Tutt, the goal was described as having 'a bit of swaz', a term which was unfamiliar to pundit and former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger.

"It was a nice finish, to be honest! Obviously I had the best view in the house for it," he said. "It was almost like a driven pass. Sometimes when I'm in that area, the defenders are quite close to me, I know if I can drive it around them... I like my golf so it's almost like a little power fade around them. It set off beautifully and found that bottom corner."

These latest exploits have propelled Kane into early conversations for the European Golden Shoe, with Manchester City's Erling Haaland quizzed on the battle after he scored in a win at Brentford on Sunday. "Don't forget [Kylian] Mbappe, he had a great start as well!" the Norwegian replied. "They're doing amazing, so I need to keep up."

Kane also allayed fears he had sustained serious injury after limping off shortly before the full-time whistle, while he was in fine spirits alongside wife Kate at Bayern's Oktoberfest celebrations on Sunday prior to joining up with the England squad.

It's a real shame that Barcelona's trip to Sevilla on Sunday won't be remembered for the brilliance of Marcus Rashford, rather that Hansi Flick's men were torn limb from limb in a humiliating 4-1 loss. His goal, which proved to be a consolation at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan but looked like the catalyst for a comeback at the time, extended his run of games with a direct scoring contribution to eight for club and country, finding his feet in Spain and back in the England fold.

What a goal this was, as well. With Barca two down on the stroke of half-time, they needed a moment of inspiration to give them a fighting chance. That came when Rashford peeled away from his marker in the left channel, and fortunately for him, the man running that attack was Pedri, who's in the form of his life at the moment. The playmaker spotted his forward making a run, and sure enough the ball fell kindly for the Manchester United to thunder home a venomous volley with his weaker left foot.

It was superb, it was outrageous, it was a goal worthy of being scored by the great Barcelona, one fitting for Rashford's first in La Liga. Alas, it will go down in history as a mere footnote. Flick's side pushed for a leveller and thought that would come when they were awarded a penalty 15 minutes from time. However, Robert Lewandowski fluffed his lines and Sevilla would go on to score twice more in added time.

Despite the defeat, Flick was pleased with the efforts of Rashford and Co to try and haul themselves off the canvas: "I think that in the second half we reacted. We have to focus on what we have done wrong and fight so that this does not happen again. I think we are a team, the injured players will return and I value the reaction of the second half. We're not happy because it's hard to lose, but I want to see it this way. What I've seen in the dressing room are players who want to react, I've seen them with anger and I like that. The break is next, we'll come back and see if we can react."

The use of 'winner' here is quite a liberal one. We could easily substitute it out for 'loser'. But in this sense, we're marking Lloyd Kelly down as the former in a, to paraphrase Gary Neville, 'he's a lucky, lucky boy' sense.

For the most part, Juventus' mammoth clash with AC Milan at the Allianz Stadium failed to live up to the hype, with Massimiliano Allegri's return to Turin a damp squib from an entertainment standpoint. Which, well, isn't unexpected, but sometimes these sorts of fixtures throw up a surprise or two.

In fact, the only shock value came during a couple of minutes at the start of the second half. Kelly, suddenly a favourite in the Italian media after stepping up as a key figure for Juve under Igor Tudor this season, returned to his calamitous form of old when he dragged down Rossoneri striker Santiago Gimenez. The English defender's blushes were spared when USMNT captain Christian Pulisic skied the resulting penalty in comical fashion.

Kelly was also fortunate in the sense that this miss meant the Italian media took aim at Tudor instead, questioning his tactics. The closest the centre-back got to a scolding was Gazzetta dello Sport describing his error as 'inexplicable' and his manager being asked when Brazilian star Bremer would return from a long-term injury. Canadian striker Jonathan David, who has scored once in seven appearances since arriving from Lille on a free transfer, was the player scapegoated by the rest of the local press.

The transfer of Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund seemed destined to be a massive hit, even straight away. He arrived at Signal-Iduna Park this summer as a Championship play-off winner with Sunderland, taking home the league's Young Player of the Season prize and making the Team of the Season for good measure. That was before you even factored in BVB's reputation as a fantastic club for youth development and their history with his older brother, Jude.

Yet what seemed a dream move has proven a nightmare to this point. On the pitch, he is yet to adapt to the rigours of the Bundesliga, best evidenced by head coach Niko Kovac's reluctance to play him for a full 90 minutes so far this season. Off it, drama is afoot. The relationship between Jobe and Dortmund got off on the wrong foot when his parents reportedly tried to confront Kovac on the opening weekend of the campaign after he was substituted at half-time. Efforts have been made to make amends, but matters haven't got much better since.

BILD recently reported that the continued presence of mother Denise and father Mark has supposedly created a 'dangerous atmosphere of tension', one that is making Jobe feel 'insecure'. There is a huge weight of expectation on Jobe's shoulders considering the success of Jude in the famous black and yellow. Ex-Germany star Dietmar Hamann went as far as to say the young midfielder is Dortmund's only cause for concern so far in 2025-26. Last week, he said: "The momentum Niko Kovac has brought to the table is truly impressive. Finally, consistency. The whole team is finally working for the win. I don't think they'll be able to keep up with Munich until the end, because Bayern seem to be able to step up a gear when necessary.

"But BVB's development is really good. Just imagine if they had even won the games in Turin and at St. Pauli. Then they'd be on Bayern's level. The only cause for concern seems to be Jobe Bellingham. Young, expensive and, so far, not even half as good as Jude Bellingham. It's not getting any easier for him."

This weekend, Jobe came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of a 1-1 draw at home to RB Leipzig, though failed to make an impact on the game and made only four passes in that time. It would be daft and foolish to write him off, but the first signs of his Dortmund chapter haven't been positive.

There was such a fascination around Jamie Vardy's decision to join Serie A newcomers Cremonese at the end of the summer transfer window, and rightly so. The legendary striker left Leicester at the end of the 2024-25 season in search of a new challenge. Wrexham, backed by Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, were widely tipped as a leading contender for his signature. Any other move within the British borders seemed plausible, too, but Vardy instead left his comfort zone and headed to Italy with his family.

So, how's it going for the 28-year-old? Not amazingly, to be honest. Even more brutally, Cremonese's stunning form to start the season has tailed off since Vardy started playing minutes, winning their opening two games without him, including a famous 2-1 triumph against Milan at San Siro, but drawing three and losing one with him on the books.

On Saturday, Cremonese's unbeaten start to life back in the top tier came to an end on their return to San Siro, this time to take on Inter. It was a chastening first trip to one of football's great cathedrals for Vardy, who was introduced as a substitute on the 57-minute mark with his side already trailing by four goals. Still, his side managed to grab a consolation late on to ensure it ended 4-1, so, every cloud.

Meanwhile, Vardy took time last week to pay tribute to departing Leicester CEO Susan Whelan, who has spent the last 15 years at the King Power Stadium. He wrote on social media: "It's hard to imagine Leicester without Susan. She's been such a constant presence, not just in her work, but in the way she's poured her heart into the people around her. Susan has given so much of herself - time, energy, passion, loyalty. She stood by people, worked tirelessly, and always went above and beyond, not because she had to, because that’s simply who she is.

"Those of us who know Susan personally know her value goes far beyond titles and positions. She is a force of kindness and clarity, a friend who listens without judgement and speaks truth with courage.

"On a personal level, I can't thank Susan enough for everything she did for me. She believed in me when I doubted myself, she encouraged me when I was struggling, and she always had the right words at the right time. Her kindness, honesty and wisdom have left a mark on my life that I’ll carry with me always.

"Thank you, Susan, for everything you've done not only for me personally but also my family. You've made a bigger difference than you'll ever know. We wish you all the success for the future."

Of the many Brits currently on the French side of the English Channel, Charlie Cresswell will be the one coming away from this weekend feeling most chuffed. He and his Toulouse team-mates head into the international break off the back of a remarkable 2-1 win away at Lyon, who would have gone top of the table had they not blown their one-goal cushion in such crazy circumstances.

OL had led 1-0 until the final knockings thanks to a first-half goal from Malick Fofana and seemed set to move into first place for the fortnight ahead. Then everything came crumbling down. Cresswell and his defensive partners had managed to stop the hosts building on their advantage, setting the stage for a grandstand finale that saw substitute Emersonn score in the 87th and 96th minutes to completely turn the game on its head.

Speaking to La Depeche, Cresswell praised the Brazilian forward and spoke on how it's not easy to hit the ground running in France when moving from a different country. He said: "It's not easy for foreign players to arrive in France and integrate into the team. I remember how it was for me last year: it takes time. But you can see in training the immense talent Emersonn possesses. He's tall, fast, powerful, he's an animal, and he knows how to use both feet. But the most important thing for me is that he's a very endearing person, a humble man. He's a hard worker. If he continues on this path, it can only be positive for everyone."

The former Leeds defender has been linked with a return to England over the last few months, with West Ham said to be fans of his. He's certainly showing the leadership and maturity that the Irons have been missing at London Stadium.