Harry Kane scores 4 goals in Bayern's 9-2 rout of Zagreb and breaks a record that Wayne Rooney held

MUNICH (AP) — Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney’s record for the most Champions League goals by an English player when the Bayern Munich striker scored four times against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.

It was one of several records broken as Bayern routed Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 in one of the highest-scoring games in Champions League history — and an emphatic start to European competition for new coach Vincent Kompany.

“Amazing game, a bit of a crazy game for sure,” Kane told broadcaster DAZN. “To score all those goals in the end was a great night.”

Kane took his tally to 33 in the competition by scoring in the 19th, 53rd, 73rd and 78th minutes — three of the goals were penalties — to surpass Rooney's record of 30.

“To be honest, after the second (penalty) I didn’t really know what to do with the third one, but thankfully I was able to put it away," Kane said.

Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot to give Bayern the lead over the Croatian club after his teammate Aleksandar Pavlovic was fouled by Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel.

That drew Kane level with Rooney's record of 30, and he scored his 31st on a rebound after goalkeeper Ivan Nevistic parried Joshua Kimmich's shot in the 57th.

Kane scored two more from the penalty spot to extend his record.

Four other Bayern players scored in the emphatic win and there were two goals for new signing Michael Olise on his Champions League debut after signing from Crystal Palace.

Leon Goretzka’s header in stoppage time made Bayern the first team to score nine goals in the Champions League era. Some teams, including Bayern, achieved that feat in the old European Cup. It was the highest-scoring game in the competition in terms of total goals since Borussia Dortmund beat Legia Warsaw 8-4 in 2016.

The 31-year-old Kane has scored 12 Champions League goals since moving to Bayern a year ago and scored 21 before that for Tottenham.

Kane now has 53 goals in 50 games in all competitions since moving to Bayern.

Kane has scored nine goals in his last three games for club and country including two for England against Finland in his 100th international game and a hat trick Saturday for Bayern against Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga.

Kane and Kylian Mbappé were joint top scorers in last season’s Champions League with eight goals each.

Another record was broken when Thomas Müller came off the bench to play his 152nd Champions League game for Bayern. That’s the most for a player for one club, breaking a tie with former Barcelona player Xavi Hernandez. Müller has made the joint fourth-most appearances in the competition of any player.

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Bayern's Leroy Sane, second right celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides 8th goal, during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane scores his sides 7th goal and his 4th of the game from the penalty spot during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty sport during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane, right, celebrates after scoring his sides 4th goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty sport during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty sport during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane scores the opening goal from the penalty sport during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Harry Kane, right, celebrates after scoring his sides 5th goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Bayern Munich and GNK Dinamo at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Dinamo Zagreb in Munich, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (Peter Kneffel/dpa via AP)

SEATTLE (AP) — A year ago, the New York Yankees were knocked out of playoff contention with a week to go in the regular season, ending a string of six straight postseason appearances.

Remembering what that was like made wrapping up a playoff berth with more than a week left this time around feel that much better to the Yankees.

“A lot of things have come together. Probably better health overall. Definitely an added focus for guys that were coming off tough years and simply put, we’re better. We weren’t a great team last year and this team has a chance to do something special,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.

After spending last year sitting at home when the postseason arrived, the Yankees wrapped up their place in the playoffs with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Mariners in 10 innings Wednesday night.

New York has the best record in the American League at 89-63 and leads second-place Baltimore by five games in the AL East with 10 to play. The latest victory ensured the Yankees at least a wild card.

It’s the 59th postseason appearance in franchise history, but the Yankees are still trying to end a World Series drought that dates to 2009, when New York celebrated its 27th title.

Last year, the Yankees were hampered by an injury-riddled roster that was eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 24. Before that, the Yankees hadn’t missed the postseason since 2016, when Aaron Judge had just 27 games of major league experience.

Now they’re headed back to the playoffs with Judge the MVP favorite in the American League, another hitting star in Juan Soto and a starting pitching staff that might have enough depth to carry the Yankees on a deep playoff run.

“(It’ll) definitely be exciting, especially after the season we had last year missing out on the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s what we came into the season to do, get into the postseason and give ourselves an opportunity to go out there and win a World Series. That’ll be step one, but we've got to get there first.”

The task over the final stretch is making sure that return to the playoffs includes going in as champions of the AL East. The recent slump by the Orioles has opened a gap in the division race and built perhaps enough of a cushion to take some of the drama away from next week’s three-game series between the teams in the Bronx.

But it only remains stress-free as long as the Yankees don’t stumble over the next few days. After closing out the series in Seattle on Thursday, the Yankees finish up their final trip with three games in Oakland.

They hope it’s the last time they have to be away from home for a while.

“Our goal is to win the division. That’s what we want to do," Soto said. “We’re going to focus on that and try to finish the season strong.”

Soto is a big reason the Yankees are back in the playoffs and might end up with home-field advantage in the American League. While Judge is rightfully the favorite to win his second MVP in the past three seasons with 53 homers and 136 RBIs, the contributions from Soto have been equally important.

Soto reached the 40-homer mark for the first time in Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners. It was also the 200th longball of his career, at just age 25 and heading into an offseason when he will be the top free agent. The duo will probably determine just how deep this Yankees playoff run goes.

“Getting a front-row seat this year, all year, watching him, watching him go about it, watching him day in and day out, just a great hitter,” Boone said.

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New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo follows through on an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the 10th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo reacts after hitting an RBI double against the Seattle Mariners during the 10th inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Yankees' Juan Soto hits a double against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

New York Yankees' Anthony Rizzo hits an RBI single to score Jasson Domínguez against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)