Kane fires Bayern back to the top of the pile

The Bavarians regain their Bundesliga crown a year after surrendering it to Bayer Leverkusen

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All manner of emotions bubbled to the surface as Bavarian behemouth Bayern Munich secured a 34th German league title, their 12th Schale (championship shield) in the past 13 years.

There was pride in a fine set of results and achievements: just two defeats all season, topping the table for all but the opening three rounds of the campaign, and piling up a mightily impressive 99 goals, with Harry Kane, the league's top goalscorer, responsible for 26 of them. There was satisfaction, mixed in with a good pinch of relief, at reasserting their domestic pre-eminence after being ground into the dust by Leverkusen in the 2023-24 title race. And there were wide smiles of joy on the faces of a number of players - Kane, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Michael Olise, Eric Dier, Jonas Urbig and Hiroki Ito — who got to celebrate the first titles of their respective careers.

Bayern were especially potent going forward. Kane was as voracious and ruthless as ever in the box; new boy winger Olise, signed from Crystal Palace, settled in so quickly that he was the first player in the Bundesliga to rack up ten goals and ten assists; while Jamal Musiala, who Bayern so badly missed when sidelined late in the season with a torn hamstring, continued to shine in the role of difference-maker.