Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane has been accused by an opponent of causing injury.
In the first half of Wednesday’s 0-4 win over Mainz in the second round of the DFB-Pokal, the German Cup, Kane collided with Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner after challenging for a loose ball following a cross from Serge Gnabry.
The incident left Zentner with a cut above his right eyebrow and needing lengthy treatment.
He was able to continue and finish the game, but in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF after the game, the 30-year-old said that Kane was at fault and had no reason to challenge for the ball.
“Yes, I think you can blame him,” Zentner said. “He saw relatively early that he wasn’t going to get to the ball. He might as well have just stayed away.”
Bayern took the lead inside two mins through Jamal Musiala and would score all their goals before half-time, with Musiala completing his hat-trick and Leroy Sane adding another, to book a place in the third round.
The German side have not won the Pokal since 2020 and have been eliminated at the second-round stage in three of the past four seasons.
“We were very focused on our performance and started well,” head coach Vincent Kompany said in his press conference afterwards. “It was a perfect game. 4-0 away in the cup and we’re through another round — that’s great! The team is hungry and we’re excited about every game.”
Midfielder Joshua Kimmich was similarly optimistic. “We’re taking it round by round-by-round and just looking to keep advancing,” he said.
“The big goal is of course (the final in) Berlin. I know how cool that event is. Playing in a final is always something big. Now we’ll see who we get in the next round.”
Neither Kane nor Bayern have commented on the incident with Zentner.
(Torsten Silz/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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