Bayern crush Magdeburg in German Cup with fresh Ballon d'Or winner Kane on the bench - The Straits Times

MUNICH, Germany, Oct 28 - Bayern Munich rested newly-crowned Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane as they cruised past second-tier Magdeburg 6-1 in the German Cup second round on Wednesday.

On Monday, Kane became the first English player since Michael Owen in 2001 to win the prestigious award, football's top individual honour, and was rested two days later as his club managed his workload ahead of a demanding run of domestic and European fixtures.

Michael Olise scored twice, either side of Ismael Saibari's goal, before two strikes in three minutes from Alphonso Davies and Nathaniel Brown late in the second half gave them a four-goal advantage.

With assistant coach Aaron Danks on the bench for the second successive match after coach Vincent Kompany collapsed during a training session last week, Bayern were troubled in the first half when Magdeburg briefly equalised and also hit the post on the stroke of halftime.

But the visitors could not keep up with Bayern's tempo after the break as the hosts eased into the next round with teenager David Santos-Daiber hitting their sixth goal in stoppage time.

The Bavarians, who lead the Bundesliga title race, face rivals Borussia Dortmund in the Klassiker on Saturday before travelling to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League next week. REUTERS