Brits Abroad: Insatiable Harry Kane puts Bayern Munich in sight of more glory as Ivan Toney threatens to take Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi Golden Boot and Raheem Sterling finally returns to action

Bayern Munich took a huge step towards retaining their Bundesliga crown on Saturday by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at the Allianz Arena, with Harry Kane at the double after Aleksandar Pavlovic's opener. Eintracht scored two late goals in a nervy finale, but Bayern held on to move eight points clear at the Bundesliga summit, capitalising on Borussia Dortmund's 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig later that day.

It was another ruthless performance from Kane, who is up to a staggering 43 goals from just 36 appearances in all competitions this season, with 28 of those coming in the Bundesliga. Only a fool would bet against the England striker breaking Robert Lewandowski's single-season goals record of 41, with 11 games still to play for Vincent Kompany's side, especially when looking at the quality of his second goal against Eintracht.

Kane turned quickly 25 yards from goal before curling an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner of the net with unerring accuracy; the ball was quite literally goal-bound from the moment it left his foot. It was a breath-taking moment from a player brimming with confidence, and thriving in a role that allows him to be both a goal machine and playmaker for Kompany's irresistible Bayern. Almost every promising attack goes through Kane and he's also doing his bit defensively, much to the delight of his manager.

"Harry is incredibly smart. Of course, he has his specific role when it comes to defending. But when we have possession, it's 50 percent coaching and 50 percent simply trusting the player to do the right thing," Kompany said after the game. "I used to be a defender and often played against Harry, but I never saw these qualities because he was always on the highest line. And that was actually quite easy for me to defend against – but don't tell Harry that!"

Dortmund will have been shaking in their boots watching Kane's latest display ahead of next weekend's Klassiker at Signal Iduna Park. On current form, it's difficult to see how they can stop him or Bayern wrapping up the title race once and for all.

Trent Alexander-Arnold made only his sixth La Liga start for Real Madrid last week, and grabbed the opportunity with both hands, providing an assist in a thumping 4-1 win over Real Sociedad. The former Liverpool favourite was singled out for special praise by head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, and also impressed in the first leg of Madrid's Champions League knockout stage play-off tie against Benfica, so he was given a deserved rest for Saturday's trip to Osasuna, with Dani Carvajal getting the nod at right-back.

However, Madrid found themselves a goal down heading into the final 25 minutes, and Arbeloa decided to take Carvajal off for Alexander-Arnold in an attempt to give the visitors more impetus going forward. Vinicius Jr promptly levelled the scoreline with a simple finish in the 73rd minute, which initially looked like the springboard for the Liga leaders to go on and claim another three points.

Osasuna, though, had other ideas. With stoppage time looming, Dani Ceballos gave the ball away cheaply in the middle of the pitch and Raul Moro drove to the edge of the box before playing in Raul Garcia, who smartly turned away from Raul Asencio and swept the ball into the far corner. It was a superb piece of play from Garcia, but he probably wouldn't have been able to pull it off had Alexander-Arnold been doing his job properly.

The 27-year-old was far too slow to get back into position and didn't even attempt to put a foot in when Garcia sidestepped Asencio, with a lack of determination costing his team at the worst possible moment. Madrid ultimately slipped to a dismal 2-1 defeat that allowed Barcelona to return to the top of the table with their 3-0 win against Levante on Sunday.

Although Alexander-Arnold was far from the only one to blame, it was another case of one step forward, one back for the Anfield academy graduate. Time is running out for him to stake a proper claim for a place in England's World Cup squad, and he will have to respond quickly when Madrid host Benfica in the second leg of their Champions League tie on Wednesday.

Roberto De Zerbi's tenure at Marseille ended in ignominious fashion as they exited the Champions League and fell out of the Ligue 1 title picture after a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in Le Classique. Marseille turned to Habib Beye to steady the ship, one week after the ex-Newcastle defender's sacking at Rennes, but his first game in the dugout for away at Brest couldn't have gone worse.

Ludovic Ajorque scored two headers in the first half to give Brest a commanding lead, and held firm until seven minutes from time, when Mason Greenwood won a penalty. The former Manchester United forward picked himself up to take the spot-kick, only to have his weak attempt well saved by Brest goalkeeper Gregoire Coudertt.

Brest held on for a huge victory that lifted them up to 11th, while Marseille fell a whopping 14 points behind leaders PSG in fourth. There's no telling whether the final result would have been different had Greenwood converted from 12 yards, but it was a lackadaisical mistake from a man who suddenly looks shot of confidence.

Greenwood seemingly misplaced his shooting boots, with only two of his seven shots registered as on target, while he lost possession 25 times in his 90 minutes on the pitch. The 24-year-old is now in danger of being overtaken in the Ligue 1 Golden Boot race, as Joaquin Panichelli moved to within one goal of the Englishman's leading haul of 14 by scoring in Strasbourg's 3-1 win over Lyon on Sunday.

Worse yet, if Greenwood doesn't quickly rediscover his best level, Marseille could well miss out on Champions League qualification. Beye will need a much-improved performance from OM's talisman when they host third-place Lyon at the Orange Velodrome in a must-win encounter next weekend.

After scoring in successive Serie A wins over Bologna and Pisa, Ruben Loftus-Cheek looked well placed to force his way into Tuchel's England plans again, having been surprisingly recalled to the international fold back in September after six years away. Massimiliano Allegri gave the ex-Chelsea midfielder a breather as AC Milan played out a 1-1 draw with Como on Wednesday, but he returned to the starting XI for Sunday's home clash with Parma in peak physical condition.

Unfortunately, though, Loftus-Cheek only lasted 11 minutes before being withdrawn, and now his World Cup hopes are in tatters. Parma goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi accidentally punched Loftus-Cheek when coming out to try and clear a cross, leaving the 30-year-old writhing in agony on the turf and with blood under his nose and on his cheek.

A stretcher was used to remove Loftus-Cheek from the field and he was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with fracture of the alveolar bone that forms and supports the sockets of the teeth. According to Sky Italia, he will undergo surgery on Monday and is expected to be out of action for 'several' months.

It is a bitter blow for England and Milan, who also saw their 24-game unbeaten run in Serie A snapped as Parma went on to secure a 1-0 win at San Siro. That effectively ends the Rossoneri's title chances, with arch-rivals Inter now 10 points ahead of them in first, and Loftus-Cheek will be a big miss as they attempt to consolidate a Champions League spot.

Everyone at Milan will wish Loftus-Cheek a speedy recovery from the horror injury blow, while he has also received a "get well soon" message from Corvi, who clearly did not intend to cause any harm. Allegri's side will definitely be without Loftus-Cheek when they travel to Cremonese in their next league game on March 1.

After nine long months away from the pitch, Raheem Sterling finally returned to action on Sunday, stepping off the bench for the final half-hour of Feyenoord's 2-1 home win over Telstar in the Eredivisie. The ex-Chelsea star's last competitive appearance had come way back in May 2025, when he was on loan at Arsenal, and his future in the game was called into question after he was exiled from the Blues' squad by Enzo Maresca.

Feyenoord have given Sterling a life raft, though, and there were signs that he is far from finished during his debut. He recorded five ball carries, two duel wins, and an 80% pass completion rate to help Feyenoord close out a third consecutive victory, keeping them five points clear of third-place NEC, albeit still 14 points adrift of champions-elect PSV.

Sterling has only signed a short-term contract until June, but manager Robin van Persie has gone to great lengths to accommodate him, even moving the squad training camp to Belgium while the winger waited on his work visa. If he can build on his promising start, an extended stay could be on the cards, though Sterling is not thinking that far ahead.

"Haven't played in a little bit, but just trying to keep fit. Been with the team now for a little bit, so it's just all on building a step at a time and trying to get to match fitness," he told ESPN. "Good to start your first game with a win, think that's the most important."

Sterling also gave a blunt response when asked whether Tuchel has been in touch about potentially reintegrating him into the England squad, having signed the ex-Manchester City star at Chelsea in 2022 - also the year of his last appearance at international level.

"I haven't spoken with him. Just keep playing football, that's what's most important," he said.

Sterling's main ambition won't be to impress Tuchel at the moment, but rather Van Persie, who is delighted to have a player with his pedigree on board at De Kuip. The former Arsenal and Manchester United striker said at Sterling's unveiling: "His qualities can change the outcome of a game without a doubt, and I am convinced he will turn ⁠out to be a valuable addition to the team as we work towards achieving our ‌goals in the second half of this season."

Cristiano Ronaldo found the net twice for Al-Nassr in a thumping 4-0 win over Al-Hazm on Saturday that took Jorge Jesus' side back to the top of the Saudi Pro League, one point above Al-Hilal. The 41-year-old also pledged his future to Al-Nassr after ending his his protest against the club's lack of January transfer activity, declaring after the game: "I belong to Saudi Arabia."

He is, however, currently being outshone in the Middle East by former Brentford centre-forward Ivan Toney. Ronaldo has won two successive Pro League Golden Boots, but Toney is top of the 2025-26 charts with 23 goals for Al-Ahli, five more than Portugal icon, and it could be that the two games Ronaldo sat out while striking come back to haunt him.

Toney pulled another goal ahead of Ronaldo after a stunning hat-trick against Al-Najma on Thursday. The England international tapped home a cross for his first and fired home a superb volley to double his account, before completing his treble with a trademark penalty as Al-Ahli ran out 4-1 winners. He did, however, also miss a spot-kick earlier in the game, which is one of the rarest sights in football, given Toney had scored all 24 of his previous career penalties. He was not downhearted by the blunder, though.

"Everyone can miss penalties, but it’s how you bounce back," Toney told reporters. "I bounced back today and got the hat-trick. I wouldn’t sleep easily because of the missed penalty; I wouldn’t sleep for a while as I would be thinking about it. But if someone told me to miss one penalty for a hat-trick, I'd take it."

Beating Ronaldo to the Saudi top scorer award would be some feat, and perhaps enough to book Toney a seat on England's World Cup plane. It's fair to say that, as it stands, there is no better deputy for Harry Kane, with Ollie Watkins currently toiling for consistency at Aston Villa.

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