Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has backed international colleague Harry Kane to claim this year's Ballon d'Or following their entertaining Champions League stalemate at the Allianz Arena. Both England stars found the net on Wednesday night as the Premier League champions fought back late on to share the spoils with Bayern Munich.
Midfielder endorses prolific international colleague
Rice has backed his compatriot Kane to win football's top individual prize after going head-to-head in Wednesday's league-phase clash in Germany. The Three Lions skipper stands as the frontrunner after plundering 61 goals in 51 club outings last season while guiding his country to the World Cup semi-finals in North America. Converting a second-half penalty took his tally for the current campaign to 10 goals from 11 appearances.
Clinical display sparks post-match praise
The visitors suffered an early blow when Bukayo Saka limped off after 10 minutes with a non-contact thigh problem, though his replacement Eberechi Eze broke the deadlock in the 25th minute from Martin Odegaard's pass following a VAR offside check. However, the Bayern talisman split the Gunners' backline 10 minutes later to tee up Alphonso Davies before sending David Raya the wrong way from 12 yards after his shot struck Jurrien Timber's hand.
Having bumped into his international captain in the post-match interview area, Rice told TNT Sports presenter Jules Breach: "For me, he's the clear winner. I think his numbers speak for themselves. The year he's had has been remarkable. He's obviously up against some world-class players. When you play with him, you realise how good he is and when you play against him, you see how much of a pain he is."
Reflecting on the forward's first-half assist and composed spot-kick, the Arsenal midfielder added: "As a striker, to play that pass for that [first] goal and to take the penalty how he did, he's ridiculous. He's such a good player. I'm lucky to play with him and not so lucky to play against him."
Legendary captain hails passing vision
Arsenal eventually rescued a point when Rice exchanged passes with substitute Viktor Gyokeres and drilled a low finish into the bottom corner, before Manuel Neuer produced an acrobatic late save to deny Timber a winner.
Watching the broadcast alongside the post-match interview, former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard was equally effusive in his praise: "Such a clever player. He's picking the ball up in all kinds of strange areas: centre-back, right-back, left-back.
"The reason he does that is if he turns, and he's facing the opposition goal, he can go and play incredible passes. His vision, his passing range, how lethal he is in front of goal. You're just talking about an all-round, world-class player in Harry Kane. I just hope, and I've got my fingers crossed for him, that he gets the recognition he deserves."
Comparing the striker's distribution to the finest playmakers in world football, Gerrard concluded: "His range of passing, as a midfielder, I want to tell you he's a centre forward who can pass like the best midfielders in the world, like the best central defenders in the world. He's just so good and he has got no weakness in his game."
London ceremony awaits injury-hit visitors
Whether Kane claims the prestigious accolade will be revealed on Monday evening when the Ballon d'Or ceremony gets underway in London at 20:00 UK time. Before then, Arsenal's medical staff face an anxious wait to determine the severity of Saka's suspected thigh injury ahead of their weekend domestic return. Both European heavyweights remain well placed in the Champions League standings after sharing the points in Bavaria.