Europe's best! Harry Kane's goal-scoring exploits for Bayern Munich put into context as deadly England striker eclipses Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland & Mohamed Salah

For Vincent Kompany’s side, it was the perfect curtain-raiser. Michael Olise netted twice, Liverpool old boy Luis Díaz grabbed his first Bundesliga strike, and then Kane stole the headlines with a clinical treble that had Leipzig begging for the final whistle.

Kane’s form since trading Tottenham for Munich has been nothing short of phenomenal. Friday’s fireworks took him to 65 goals in just 64 league matches, outscoring every other forward across Europe’s top five leagues in that period. The closest challenger, Mbappe, sits on 59, while Haaland trails with 51, and Salah lags further back on 48.

After the final whistle, Kane made clear Bayern’s ambitions. "We wanted to open the season with a statement, and that's exactly what we've done," Kane told Sky Sports. "We're playing against a good side, but we were on top in all areas and we were clinical when we needed to be, so we can enjoy this. It's great for the boys, great for the confidence, but as we know it's the whole team that are working and it's a big performance."

Ironically, Kane's magic in Munich has erased one of the most infamous myths of his Tottenham days, the dreaded 'August curse'. For years, Kane couldn’t buy a Premier League goal in the opening month, enduring a 1,000-minute drought that only ended in 2018 against Fulham. Moreover, it was his eighth Bundesliga hat-trick, the same number he racked up in the English top flight in 320 appearances with his boyhood club.

Despite the euphoria, Bayern won’t have long to dwell on the demolition job. Their focus now turns to the DFB-Pokal, where they face Wiesbaden in midweek. The champions then return to Bundesliga duty against Augsburg on August 30, with Kane already eyeing another chance to extend his lead at the top of Europe's scoring charts.