Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has thrown his support behind fellow England international Harry Kane in the race for the Ballon d’Or, following the 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
The two England internationals made their mark in the encounter at the Allianz Arena, with Kane contributing a goal and an assist, while Rice scored Arsenal’s equaliser in the 82nd minute.
The Bayern striker initially provided an assist for Alphonso Davies, who brought his team level, before converting a penalty in the 61st minute to put Bayern ahead. However, Rice found the net late in the game to secure a valuable point for Arsenal.
After the match, Rice was asked about Kane’s chances of winning the Ballon d’Or and did not hesitate to back the Bayern forward, praising his performances and the impact he has made throughout the year.
“He is the clear winner. His statistics speak for themselves, and the year he has had has been incredible. When you play alongside him, you realise how good he is, and when you play against him, you see how difficult he is to deal with,” Rice told TNT Sports.
The England midfielder described Kane as an outstanding footballer, adding that he feels fortunate to play alongside him at international level, even though facing him at club level presents a difficult challenge.
Kane is enjoying an outstanding season. In 11 appearances so far, the England striker has scored 10 goals and provided seven assists, continuing the impressive form he showed last season.
Meanwhile, Rice also spoke about his goal against Bayern, praising the movement of striker Viktor Gyokeres, who helped create the opportunity.
“I am really happy. Gyokeres made a huge impact when he came off the bench. He made some excellent runs tonight and created the opportunity for me to score,” the Arsenal midfielder said.
Rice also praised his team’s performance at a difficult venue, emphasising that Arsenal had not travelled to Munich simply to defend but to play football and fight for a positive result.
The 2-2 draw underlined the competitiveness of both teams in a closely contested encounter that went down to the final stages, while Rice’s comments add to the growing support for Kane in the race for football’s most prestigious individual award.
