Harry Kane scored his second Bundesliga hat-trick in a row and third overall as Bayern Munich bounced back in style from a mid-week German Cup debacle with a 4-0 statement win at big Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Like so often in the past, Bayern were at their most dangerous best after a big setback which this time had been a shock Cup 2-1 loss on Wednesday at third division Saarbrücken.
Bayern were on fire right out of the dressing room, two goals up after nine minutes from Dayot Upamecano and Kane, with the England captain Kane then on target again in the 72nd and in stoppage time for a Bundesliga leading tally of 15 goals.
Bayern moved within two points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen who won 3-2 at Hoffenheim in the afternoon, with the top two undefeated all season.
Dortmund in fourth had hoped to finally beat Bayern for the first time in five years to underline their title ambitions but are seven points off the top in fourth after the first season defeat, being shown their limitations yet again by the 11-times reigning champions.
"I am delighted for the team which showed a top performance. We were very focussed and effective. I am delighted for the team after the game on Wednesday. The team showed a very good reaction," Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel told Sky TV.
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said: "We presented ourselves in the right way. There was self-belief and the right positioning on the pitch. We have fast players who could hurt Dortmund."
Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said: "We are extremely disappointment because we had big ambitions. They dominated us in all areas. That must not happen at this level if you want to get a result against Bayern.
"They played a really good match and it took us a while to get into the game. We lost too many balls very quickly."
Centre-back Upamecano returned from injury to give determined Bayern a fourth-minute lead with a thumping header off Leroy Sane's corner kick.
Five minutes on, Leon Goretzka, also back from injury, ran unchallenged through midfield, passed the ball back to Sane whose low cross from the left was tapped in by Kane.
Donyell Malen came close for Dortmund when he aimed inches high shortly before half-time, and Neuer denied Marco Reus after the restart in his third game since a long injury lay-off.
But Bayern remained more dangerous, and, after being frustrated by Kobel and the offside flag, wrapped up matters in the 72nd when Kane converted off Kingsley Coman and added insult to injury in stoppage time.
He also got a hat-trick in last weekend's 8-0 demolition of Darmstadt and earlier in a 7-0 over Bochum.
"He didn't leave his experience in England but brought it to the Bundesliga. We are happy to have him in the team and he is proving it week after week," Neuer said in praise of Kane.
Earlier, Leverkusen squandered a two-goal lead from first-half goals by Florian Wirtz and Alejandro Grimaldo but hit back in style to continue their best start into a Bundesliga season with victory at Hoffenheim.
Anton Stach, after a big mistake from Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, and Wout Weghorst levelled within three minutes shortly after the restart for Hoffenheim.
But Grimaldo's second in the 70th into the top left corner gave Leverkusen a ninth win from 10 matches, their only dropped points coming in a 2-2 draw at Bayern in mid-September.
"It was a fight, not really nice flowing football. It was tough and we had to sweat it out in the end. But victories like these are also nice," Wirtz told Sky TV.
Union Berlin's crisis deepened with an eighth straight league defeat, as many as they had in the entire past season they finished fourth, 3-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt with the help of an Omar Marmoush brace in the opening 13 minutes.
Union have lost a dozen straight games overall, have not scored a goal in five games and are third-last in the Bundesliga.
Mainz got their first season victory, 2-0 against RB Leipzig from Lee Jae-Sung and Leandro Barreiro, with Jan Siewert as caretaker coach after Thursday's resignation of Bo Svensson.
Mainz handed last place to Cologne who were held 1-1 by Augsburg, and Freiburg came from behind in a last-gasp 3-3 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Bochum claimed their first season victory on Friday, 2-1 in Darmstadt. The Sunday games are Wolfsburg v Werder Bremen and Heidenheim v Stuttgart.
- Harry Kane
- Hat-trick
- Bayern Munich
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
