Kane notes that in the past five or six years, one-on-one pressing has become far more prominent. European football is highly physical, and top sides now look to win the ball back high up the pitch, trusting defenders and midfielders to handle individual duels.
In response, the best teams recruit powerful athletes and elite dribblers who can beat their marker when matches turn into a series of one-against-ones.
Kane, who admits he isn’t the quickest and isn’t famed for dribbling, has prospered by playing to his own strengths.
Against Dortmund, he dropped into deeper areas to find space, prompting two opponents to converge as they sensed the danger.
His ball-carrying is cerebral: quick thinking gives him solutions others try to find with pure footwork.
He sank low, used his strength to fend off centre-back Waldemar Anton, then rose and subtly angled his body to the right. Those tiny adjustments—hallmarks of his game—can shift a team’s momentum.
The feint wrong-footed Daniel Svensson and Jobe Bellingham, and with a sharp touch back across his body, he opened the whole pitch from inside Bayern’s half.