MUNICH:
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thumped Mainz 8-1 on Saturday, equalling a 60-year-old record and keeping alive his team’s hopes of catching leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Kane, who also laid on two assists, now has 30 goals in his first season in Munich colours, matched the record for a maiden campaign set by German legend Uwe Seeler for Hamburg in 1963-64.
With nine games remaining, the England captain has also drawn nearer to the season record of 41 goals set by Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski in 2020-21.
The win was Bayern’s second biggest this season, just behind their 8-0 demolition of Darmstadt in October.
Midfielder Leon Goretzka, who scored a double, said: “It was a convincing win — the kind we’ve missed this season.”
Bayern are now seven points behind Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Leverkusen, who host lowly Wolfsburg on Sunday.
“It’s our duty to keep giving it everything we’ve got,” Goretzka said. “If Leverkusen get shaky, we’ve got to be there.”
Having sealed their progression to the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday with a 3-0 home win over Lazio, Bayern were direct and decisive against Mainz.
Outgoing manager Thomas Tuchel said midweek Bayern needed to “win, win, win” to have any chance of catching Alonso’s side and Kane obliged early, tapping in a Jamal Musiala pass after 13 minutes.
Kane had a header saved seven minutes later, but Leon Goretzka was on hand to knock in the rebound.
Nadiem Amiri wove an incredible free kick through Bayern’s defence shortly after but England striker Kane restored Bayern’s two-goal lead in first-half stoppage time, collecting a lofted Goretzka pass on the turn and blasting home.
Thomas Mueller added a fourth early in the second-half to break Mainz’s resistance, allowing Bayern to run riot, with further goals to Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Kane and Goretzka to bring the tally to eight.
The loss leaves Mainz in second last, nine points from safety.
Sporting director Martin Schmidt lamented his side’s openness, saying “we wanted to be courageous, but we were too courageous”.
Ten-man Borussia Dortmund regained fourth spot with a 2-1 win at Werder Bremen, headlined by Jadon Sancho’s first goal since returning to Germany, with his side having fallen to fifth earlier in the day when RB Leipzig beat Darmstadt 2-0 at home.
An acrobatic strike from Donyell Malen and a trademark solo effort from Sancho, the Manchester United loanee’s first in Dortmund colours since May 2021, had the visitors cruising.
Dortmund were however reduced to 10 men just before half-time when Marcel Sabitzer saw red for sinking his studs into Mitchell Weiser’s calf.
Dortmund manager Edin Terzic pulled Malen, who has five goals in his past four games, in favour of Mats Hummels at the break, but the veteran defender was at fault when Bremen’s Justin Njinmah scored with 20 minutes remaining.
Despite some nervy final moments, Dortmund held on to stay one point clear of Leipzig in fourth, the final guaranteed Champions League spot for next season.
“We played almost as well as you can at the start. The lads did an incredible job” said Dortmund striker Niclas Fuellkrug, who left Bremen in the summer having come through the club’s junior system.
Earlier on Saturday, Leipzig beat Darmstadt to rebound from a frustrating Champions League last 16 exit to Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Leipzig forced struggling Darmstadt into an own goal from Thomas Isherwood after three minutes.
Marco Rose’s men added another through Christoph Baumgartner early in the second-half to seal the win as they continue their push for a top-four spot.
“We’re looking only at ourselves,” said sporting director Rouven Schroeder of their top-four bid. “When we win our games, we’ll qualify for the Champions League.”
Third-last Cologne drew 3-3 at derby rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach, having led twice in a feisty encounter.
Cologne led for over an hour but were forced to come from behind late in the game when Robin Hack scored two goals in three minutes to give the home side the lead.
Damion Downs levelled the scores with 11 minutes remaining but Cologne will finish the round in 16th, the relegation play-off spot, seven points from safety.
