5 March 2016. It was a typical grey, windy and cold north London day. Tottenham Hotspur hosted rivals Arsenal in the Premier League’s Saturday early kick-off.
A win would have sent Spurs top of the table, if only for a few hours. This was the only day they could have done so their 2015/16 and 2016/17 title-challenging seasons. This is the one that got away.
By February 2016, Tottenham had become the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Premier League. There were still question marks over Leicester City’s credentials having battled relegation only a year earlier, while Spurs were at least an established big-six club.
If they could see off Arsenal, whose form had nosedived since Christmas, then they would be the widespread favourites for sure, proven to have enough even to spite Leicester’s fairytale.
White Hart Lane was a particularly tetchy place that day. It wasn’t often Tottenham fans found themselves in a title fight – the first time since the 1960s, in fact. The Arsenal fans who had made the short journey were in fine voice and a little calmer, the pressure firmly on their hosts instead.
That energy transferred to the players. Spurs started within themselves, the Gunners more relaxed. Aaron Ramsey always loved a goal against Tottenham and added to his collection with a fine opener just before the break.
Tottenham’s hopes were fading, but they managed to lure Arsenal into a frenzied game. Francis Coquelin was sent off for the visitors just before the hour mark and Toby Alderweireld scrambled a goal in from a corner shortly after.
The belief was back. And before Spurs supporters could even pace themselves again, they all went rabid and feral.
Dele Alli rescued possession from towards the corner flag, playing Harry Kane in with a clever back-heeled flick. Kane, clad in a mask from a facial injury sustained a few weeks earlier, had a quick glance up towards goal. He was several yards out and wide of the penalty area, but that didn’t stop him pulling the trigger.
Kane’s piledriver flew past helpless goalkeeper David Ospina, clattered off the inside of the post and nestled in. White Hart Lane didn’t cheer or scream or cry or shout – it did them all simultaneously, creating the most unique fan-made noise the stadium had ever witnessed.
A moment of magic from @HKane in the last north London derby at White Hart Lane… #COYS pic.twitter.com/dwzerhmMYn
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 28, 2017
To this day, that goal remains most Tottenham fans’ favourite among Kane’s record-breaking collection of 280. And yet it mattered little.
Alexis Sanchez rescued a point for Arsenal late on as Spurs wilted under the pressure. The points were shared and the red carpet started to be rolled out for Leicester.
This was the last time Tottenham were in striking distance of the Premier League leaders under Mauricio Pochettino. Over the next two seasons, the closest Spurs would come to first place during the run-in was four points. In essence, this is the only time Kane has ever found himself in a direct title fight.
Until now.
Kane’s Bayern Munich travel to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday knowing a win would vault them back to the top of the Bundesliga ahead of their hosts. Xabi Alonso’s side are Europe’s last unbeaten team in all competitions, while they have won 16 of their 20 league games to this point.
Bayern have a recent history of luring title-challengers into a false sense of security before dashing their dreams late in a season. They have experience of going into these huge games and ripping out of the heart of their ‘rivals’ while it’s still beating.
But this is new territory for Kane. The beauty of playing for a club like Tottenham is they were never expected to win. Being in the mix was success enough, for the most part. Even England failures can be asterisked due to the Three Lions’ long association with underachieving.
You can put a disclaimer on pretty much every game that really mattered for Kane in his career. Tottenham drawing with Arsenal isn’t the end of the world and even then he scored. He was clearly unfit for an un-fancied Spurs team in the 2019 Champions League final. He at least played well in the Euro 2020 final and emphatically scored his penalty in the losing shootout.
Kane has looked every bit worth of the €100m Bayern paid for him, with 28 goals and eight assists in 27 matches across all competitions to his name already, leading the race for the European Golden Shoe. But he’s well aware of the scrutiny and attention that will come if Bayern’s 11-year streak of Bundesliga wins is snapped following his arrival.
If Kane scores and Bayern are victorious at the BayArena on Saturday, they’ll likely romp to another title – Opta estimates about 73% if they win compared to 54% for a draw and 34% after a loss. The 30-year-old could finally add a winners’ medal to his collection and he can snap his trophy-less reputation for good, not just pipping a talented Leverkusen side to the title but dashing their hopes to.
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