Harry Kane scored twice again as Bayern Munich beat Frankfurt 3-2, moving eight points clear after Dortmund’s late draw at Leipzig
HARRY Kane scored his third consecutive Bundesliga brace to help Bayern Munich secure a 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
The win extended Bayern’s lead at the top to eight points after closest challengers Borussia Dortmund were held to a 2-2 draw at RB Leipzig.
Aleksandar Pavlovic gave Bayern the lead with a low strike before Kane added two more goals either side of half-time.
The England captain has now scored 28 goals in 23 league appearances this season.
Bayern’s comfortable 3-0 lead was threatened late on after they conceded two goals in the final 13 minutes.
Jonathan Burkardt converted a penalty after a foul by Kane, and a poor pass from Joshua Kimmich gifted Arnaud Kalimuendo a second for Frankfurt.
“We need to learn from that. We can’t have moments like that,” said Bayern’s Jamal Musiala, who made his first league start since May. Coach Vincent Kompany, however, praised his team’s character in seeing the game through.
The biggest concern for Bayern was a second-half injury to Alphonso Davies, who will miss “two to four weeks” according to Kompany. The Canadian wing-back had only recently returned from an eight-month absence.
In Leipzig, Dortmund’s title hopes suffered a significant blow. They found themselves 2-0 down at half-time after a Christoph Baumgartner double for the hosts.
Dortmund fought back in the second half, with an own goal from Romulo and a 95th-minute equaliser from Fabio Silva securing a point.
The draw leaves them with a mountain to climb ahead of Bayern’s visit to the Westfalenstadion next Saturday.
Dortmund coach Niko Kovac dismissed questions about the title race, focusing instead on a crucial week.
“Munich are coming next week,” he said. “We’re off to Bergamo (in the Champions League) in between.”
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen’s top-four hopes were dented by a 1-0 defeat at Union Berlin.
Rani Khedira scored the only goal, leaving Leverkusen three points behind fourth-placed Stuttgart.
Third-placed Hoffenheim were held to a 2-2 draw at Cologne, while Augsburg won 3-2 at Wolfsburg thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Elvis Rexhbecaj.
The Sun Malaysia
