„I’m not used to it“: This is what Harry Kane thinks about his joker role | OneFootball

Harry Kane surprisingly only started on the bench against Stuttgart, this time delivering as a substitute. After the game, the striker spoke about his unusual role.

„It’s something I’m not used to, but I’ve done it a few times this season. The manager wanted me to stay fresh and save energy,“ explained the 32-year-old after the 5-0 away win in Stuttgart. Kane came on after an hour and then scored three goals.

„I came on after 60 minutes along with a few other lads and we were able to take advantage of the space and get the goals,“ he continued. „We had a tough cup game during the week and today away against one of the best teams in the league – but we looked stronger in the last half hour and punished them.“

The striker struck for the first time in the 66th minute. After Pavlović won the ball, Kane took over and slotted the ball into the left corner from distance. He later scored from the penalty spot and finished off Michael Olise’s assist to make it 5-0. With his Bundesliga goals 15 to 17, he was once again the decisive man as a substitute.

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Vincent Kompany had made six changes to his team compared to the cup win against Union Berlin. In addition to Kane, Manuel Neuer, Serge Gnabry and Jonathan Tah were initially left out. Jonas Urbig in goal, Minjae Kim, Konrad Laimer and Tom Bischof in defence as well as Raphaël Guerreiro and Nicolas Jackson were new to the starting XI. Konrad Laimer scored the 1:0 early on – a technically demanding goal with his heel.

Stuttgart put up a good fight in the first half, but were unable to score. It was only when Kane was on the pitch that the game finally tipped in the visitors‘ favour. Harry Kane has now scored ten hat-tricks in just 76 Bundesliga appearances. Only Gerd Müller (32), Robert Lewandowski (16), Klaus Fischer (12) and Jupp Heynckes (11) have netted more trebles in the history of the competition.