Harry Kane hails Bayern Munich mentality after historic comeback

Harry Kane paid tribute to Bayern Munich’s mentality after the Bundesliga champions produced a historic comeback from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 on Saturday.

It was just the third time in Bundesliga history that a team won after trailing 3-0 at halftime, and the first since 1980. It was Bayern’s first win in any competition after trailing by three or more goals since 1988.

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What’s more, it gave Bayern Munich their eighth comeback win in the league this season, tying Bayer Leverkusen in 1999-2000 for the most ever in a single Bundesliga campaign.

“We said at halftime that we needed to bring more energy and intensity in,” Kane said. “And I think you saw that from the first minute of the second half. Obviously you need to show quality too, and I think we did that with the goals we scored.

“Credit to everyone — coming back from 3-0 down at halftime shows the mentality we have.”

Bayern arrived in Mainz in good cheer after winning the Bundesliga last weekend and reaching the German Cup final with a win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.

But Mainz romped to a deserved 3-0 halftime lead against a heavily rotated Bayern, with Kane, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise among those on the bench, ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg at Paris Saint-Germain.

Mainz’s goals came from Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Sheraldo Becker.

“The first half was tough,” Kane added. “We fell below our usual standard in terms of how we approach every game. We didn’t control the counters well enough, our defensive cover wasn’t good enough. We were a bit sloppy with the ball.”

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany sent on Kane and Olise for Luis Díaz and Aleksandar Pavlovic at the break — all four are likely to start against PSG.

Nicolas Jackson pulled one back in the 53rd and Olise let fly with a brilliant strike inside the far post in the 73rd. Musiala equalized in the 81st.

Kane then scored the winner two minutes later from a rebound after Daniel Batz saved Musiala’s effort.

It was the England striker’s 53rd goal in all competitions this season, the most by a payer from a club in Europe’s top five leagues since Robert Lewandowski‘s 55, also with Bayern, in 2019-20.

“It felt like it could’ve been four or five before the break,” Kompany said. “Then it’s about quality and mentality. The way the team rose to the challenge in the second half … We celebrated like we’d saved ourselves from relegation. I love this kind of mentality.

“When you need a miracle at the end of the season, you can’t start from nothing. You have to gain the feeling and the belief, and that was always there today. That’s the basis for me.”

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.