What will Thomas Tuchel make of Harry Kane playing quite this deep?

England captain is heading for his first trophy at Bayern Munich but in front of his new international manager, he was almost playing as a third midfielder in 0-0 draw

As draws go, it wasn’t pretty, or convincing, or any reflection of the balance of threat, but Harry Kane has never bothered about much except the execution.

He is an outcomes man, the epitome of the striker who lives by his facts and figures. He is heading for his first trophy at long, long last and probably cares more about the quirks of Micronesian politics than how he gets there.

At a bouncing, cacophonous BayArena, Bayern Munich were thoroughly outplayed by Bayer Leverkusen but their powers of experience and endurance got them to the line to claim the most precious point of the Bundesliga season. It ensured they retain an eight-point lead over their opponents, setting them up to reclaim the title from Xabi Alonso’s side.

Get ready to stop the memes and stand down the snipers: after his infamous, career-long drought without winning something, Kane can contemplate becoming a champion, finally. He was one of Bayern’s better players — but not for his attacking. With the England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, and his assistant, Anthony Barry, in the stands, Kane spent most of the game in midfield helping keep Leverkusen at bay. Bayern finished the first half with a remarkable 0.00 expected goals — it was the first time since records began in 1992 that they had had no shots before half-time — and were barely more dangerous in the second.

Leverkusen, with the brilliant Alonso a ball of energy on the touchline, just could not conjure the goal their pressure deserved and went through agony — in stoppage time Manuel Neuer saved from point-blank range from the substitute Amine Adli and then their superstar, Florian Wirtz, somehow side-footed the follow-up wide.

Watching Kane in his Bundesliga context helps understand what puzzled England supporters at Euro 2024, namely the changes he is undergoing as a player. He has always liked to drop deep but his deployment in the biggest domestic game of Bayern’s season was less as a No 9, and perhaps not even a false nine, but almost as Bayern’s third midfielder. He was often deeper than Jamal Musiala, his No10, with the two wingers Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman responsible for trying to run in behind.

For Tuchel, food for thought. You could picture Jude Bellingham in many of the areas Kane wanted to occupy. Or even Declan Rice. For his first involvement, he was so far back he took the ball off his centre backs in Bayern’s defensive third and before long there he was, inside Bayern’s box — and not because he had stayed back after a set piece — helping out Dayot Upamecano.

Leverkusen’s excellence had plenty to do with it. Using the same ruse employed when defeating Bayern in the DFB-Pokal in December, Alonso started without a striker — despite pre-match clamours for him to start with two.

Both Patrik Schick and Victor Boniface watched from the bench as Nathan Tella — who played for Vincent Kompany at Burnley — was the mobile, elusive leader of Leverkusen’s line. Behind him Wirtz was an electric current of lightning movement, ideas and skills.

Leverkusen’s set-up was with pressing and fast transitions in mind and, through these, they wobbled Bayern throughout the opening period. But couldn’t knock them down. Wirtz, cheered earlier for nutmegging Joshua Kimmich, wrong-footed Upamecano, before darting inside and chipping to Jeremie Frimpong who, at the far post, directed his header against the bar.

Then Wirtz demonstrated his impish confidence with an attempt to lob Neuer from halfway: he had the 38-year-old goalkeeper scrambling but the effort dropped wide.

Kane ran in behind once before half-time but did not have the pace to go in on Lukas Hradecky’s goal and sensibly held the ball up, before playing a technically well-crafted cross — only for there to be no one in the middle to take advantage of it. He did have a headed chance at a free kick but Kim Min-jae was offside and, on the follow-through from his header, Kane’s face thudded into Piero Hincapié’s shoulder, leaving him requiring lengthy treatment and head injury checks.

Kane was fine. Bayern’s comfort levels less so. They needed more from Musiala and to get Olise into the game. But despite their possession they had no control, thanks to Leverkusen’s intensity and the speed and angles of their attacks. They were the older, slower boxer, taking the centre of the ring — yet clinging on.

A set piece caused chaos in their box but Tella, leaping acrobatically, hooked his volley wide. From another, the ball dropped to Tella again but his shot was cleared off the line. Yet another Tella shot was blocked and Upamecano anticipated to stop a dangerous Frimpong cross.

The game’s opening had been played through a veil of sulphurous fog, as result of the smoke bombs detonated by Leverkusen supporters at kick-off. It ended without a single moment’s let-up in their chanting and drumming. But their team couldn’t quite do it. Alonso and his players won the battles of style, skill and tactics but Bayern — and, at last, Kane — are surely going to win the league.