Harry Kane and Lois Openda: different paths, one goal

Harry Kane and Lois Openda are the top scorers in the Bundesliga this year. The duel between FC Bayern and RB Leipzig on Friday also draws its appeal from this.

Despite all the alarm calls, FC Bayern already has one thing for sure: the top position can no longer be taken away from the record champions before the last Bundesliga game of the year against RB Leipzig (on Friday, December 20th from 8:30 p.m. in the radio report and in the live ticker of the Sportschau).

The Munich team has already been at the top at the end of a football year 26 times and will also be at the top of the table this year. But the harmony would be seriously disrupted if the lead over Bayer Leverkusen continued to melt.

RB Leipzig comes with good memories

Leader Joshua Kimmich therefore had one after the defeat at 1. FSV Mainz 05 (1:2). “dangerous, decisive moment” spoken. The national team captain meets Xaver Schlager, a returning top performer for the Saxons, in midfield, who has now emphasized: “My last memories of Munich are not the worst.”

For example, there would be a Leipzig success (3:1) on the home stretch in 2023 or the gala in the Supercup just a few months later (3:0). Even in the last meeting in February of this year (1:2), it looked like a draw for a long time before Harry Kane struck again.

The number nine gives hope that the Munich team will get back on the road to success. His comeback after a torn muscle fiber is desperately awaited. The interplay between Thomas Müller and Jamal Musiala in attack didn’t work at all, especially against the tough Mainz team: both remained pale and barely even got into finishing situations. Kane is the center player who secures, forwards and utilizes balls.

Harry Kane’s addiction is proven

The dependence on the 31-year-old has been immense since his frenetically celebrated arrival at Bayern a year and a half ago. His absence changes the statics and style of play, and not to the advantage of the German record champions. Since the English national team captain was signed, Bayern have lost four of their eight competitive games without him.

Currently there are 23 points that Kane has collected in twelve Bundesliga games. 44 Bundesliga games were enough for him to score 50 goals. A unique quota. Sports director Max Eberl recently made it clear again that FC Bayern could not afford a second center forward in this category. “FC Bayern isn’t a money-getter either.” Furthermore: “We still have enough quality to be able to score goals even without Harry. We’ve shown that in the last few weeks.”

Max Eberl has signed Lepzig’s best goalscorer

During his time at RB Leipzig, Eberl ensured that the second-best Bundesliga goalscorer from the calendar year now plays for the opponent. The transfer of Lois Openda was still part of his area of ​​responsibility in the summer of 2023. Only the Belgian didn’t cost around 100 million euros as a transfer fee like Kane, but almost 40 million euros went to compensation RC Lens.

Thick boards had to be drilled for this deal because the French knew about the brewery club’s financial situation: the departures of Christopher Nkunku, Dominik Szoboszlai and Josko Gvardiol had brought in almost 240 million euros. Looking back, the investment in Openda was more than worth it.

With his 30 goals in 48 Bundesliga games, the 24-year-old is a bench player for the Red Bulls. Its market value has risen to 60 million euros. Kane scored the most Bundesliga goals in the 2024 calendar year (29), followed by the nimble striker from RB Leipzig (19).

The goal guarantors reach their goal in different ways. Kane is the classic clipper who has inimitable qualities in the penalty area. The center forward sometimes just drops back to better participate in the game and unsettle opponents. His record from 961 minutes of action: 383 ball contacts, 46 shots on goal, 18 assists on goal. For comparison, Openda’s record in 1,168 minutes of action: 446 ball actions, 40 shots on goal, 15 assists on goal.

However, Leipzig’s number eleven has already done 379 sprints so far, Kane has only 143. Openda, who is sometimes also nominated as a winger, currently forms a storm duo with Benjamin Sesko that impresses with a large radius of action and is not tied to one position at all. Both were behind their form for weeks during the Saxons’ creative crisis, but recently the trend has been pointing in the right direction.

The statistics speak for Bayern

Both strikers scored against Eintracht Frankfurt (2:1). The Slovenian scored a goal in three of the last four competitive games, and Openda celebrated four times. Last season, the two attackers scored 38 times in the Bundesliga (Openda 24, Sesko 14 goals). This means: Leipzig’s opponents have to be prepared for two attackers, both of whom deserve attention in top form. The RB attacker is correspondingly self-confident before the guest appearance at Bayern: “We’ve played a few good games there recently. We’re traveling to Munich with a good feeling.”

However, the statistics speak against this: since 2013, Bayern have always won the last Bundesliga game of the year. The last time that wasn’t the case was in 2012 in the 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach. In Mönchengladbach in 1984 (2:3), the Munich team also suffered their last Bundesliga defeat to date at the end of the year. Back then it was still on the old Bökelberg, and that was a whopping 40 years ago.