Bayern Munich seeks victory from their attack

Facing Real Madrid has never been an easy challenge for any team. However, Bayern Munich still has grounds to hope for a positive result, at least in tonight's quarter-final first leg, thanks to the strength of their offensive line.

The offensive power of Vincent Kompany's squad is unquestionable, though we need to consider two scenarios for tonight's match: What if Harry Kane returns in time, and what if Kane is not in the starting lineup.

Waiting for Kane's return

This is because Kane was absent in the 3-2 win over Freiburg last weekend. This raises concerns about the physical condition of the striker born in 1993 after joining the England national team, but he could not play in the friendly match against Japan due to a knee issue during training.

Kompany is optimistic that Kane will be able to return for the big match against Real Madrid. Max Eberl, Bayern Munich's sporting director, shares the same belief. Even Kane's teammate Joshua Kimmich joked that Kane could play even if he had to use a wheelchair. Even Real Madrid, while preparing for the quarter-final first leg, likely expects Kane to return and lead Bayern Munich's attack at the Bernabeu.

No striker is more formidable than the English forward at this moment. He has scored 10 goals for Bayern Munich in this season's Champions League. Across all competitions, Kane has scored 41 goals in 35 appearances. Beyond the goal numbers, the contributions of this striker born in 1993 to Bayern Munich's attacking style are significant. Luis Diaz, Kane's teammate at Bayern Munich, understands this: "Kane's contribution is very impressive. He does everything perfectly, from dropping back to win the ball, creating assists, and of course scoring goals. He is a true machine." The Colombian striker also shared that Kane possesses the ability to maintain focus in crucial moments.

In the context that Real Madrid will not have goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois available due to injury, Kane's goal-scoring ability becomes the key for Bayern Munich to find goals on Spanish soil. The task for Kompany's team is to leave the Bernabeu with a positive result. Bayern Munich even aims for a victory to gain an advantage for the return leg next week at the Allianz Arena.

No Kane? Still fine

There is over 90% chance Kane will start at the Bernabeu, but if the worst scenario occurs—he is only fit enough to be a substitute or, worse, not even registered—would that be a disaster for Bayern Munich? Not at all. Kane is indeed the most important attacking spearhead for Bayern Munich, but Kompany's team has not become a stage solely for the English striker. The Belgian coach still has many other formidable attacking players in his squad.

These include Michael Olise, who has 7 assists this season, matching Vinicius's assist count from Real Madrid. Then there is Diaz, with 4 goals and 3 assists, Serge Gnabry with 3 goals and 2 assists, Lennart Karl with 4 goals and 2 assists. Nicolas Jackson, who could replace Kane as the central striker, also has 3 goals. Even a right-back like Konrad Laimer has provided 3 assists. This explains why Bayern Munich has impressive offensive statistics. Specifically, they have scored at least 3 goals in 6 out of their 10 Champions League appearances this season. Bayern Munich's 32 goals in the Champions League so far are only surpassed by PSG (34 goals). In the match against Atalanta in the round of 16, Kompany's team scored 10 times against their opponent. The depth of the attack enables Bayern Munich to handle matches where Kane does not start or is absent. This is illustrated by two victories: the 2-1 win over PSV when Kane only came on in the 63rd minute, and the 6-1 rout of Atalanta in Italy in the round of 16 first leg when Kane did not play at all. Therefore, the outcome of tonight's match against Real Madrid will depend on how many times Bayern Munich's attack can score past Andriy Lunin.