Harry Kane is the quickest player to score 50 goals in the German Bundesliga after scoring a hat-trick on his 43rd appearance on Friday.
Kane’s three goals — including two penalties — gave Bayern a 3-0 win over Augsburg, stretching the Bavarian powerhouse’s lead to eight points ahead of the rest of the 11th round.
Kane scored 36 goals in 32 league appearances last season, his first for Bayern after joining from Tottenham.
Photo: AP
It was also the first season since 2012 that Bayern failed to win the title, as Bayer Leverkusen went undefeated to snap Bayern’s winning run.
As well as 14 league goals this season, Kane has scored five in the UEFA Champions League and one in the German Cup.
Against Augsburg, he had to be patient as Augsburg goalkeeper Nediljko Labrovic and his defenders stood firm.
“It was somehow typical Harry Kane,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. “It was close in the first half, close, close, close, and then it happens, I think three goals in 15 minutes. Of course, he can do that. But for such a player, I have to say, he had a lot of chances that he could maybe make more of. Then, in an instant, everything is perfect and he can score many goals.”
However, Kompany should be concerned by his team’s ongoing difficulty in scoring in matches it dominates. Bayern previously defeated St. Pauli and Benfica only 1-0.
Kompany’s team had to wait until stoppage time before Kane sealed the result with his second penalty.
Bayern next hosts Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, then Borussia Dortmund away in the Bundesliga next weekend, before defending champion Bayer Leverkusen visits in the third round of the German Cup.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS