Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich beat Holstein Kiel 4-3 after conceding three times in the second half on Saturday, with Harry Kane scoring twice to set a record for most goals after 50 league games, to open a provisional nine-point lead at the top.
England captain Kane headed in either side of the break to take his league tally since joining Bayern in 2023 to 55 league goals, more than any other player in their first 50 games in the league's history.
HARRY AT THE DOUBLE!!! 🌪🌪
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) February 1, 2025
♦️ 47' #FCBKSV 3-0 ♦️ pic.twitter.com/Dx5vhCM2V6
Bayern eased off after the break and let in three goals in the last 28 minutes, with coach Vincent Kompany fuming on the sideline after a shaky second half display, but they held on for the win that took them further ahead in the title race.
They have 51 points, nine more than second-placed champions Bayer Leverkusen, who host lowly Hoffenheim on Sunday.
"His (Kane's) quality is just unusual," Kompany told a press conference. "But it is also his mentality. How calm he remains, how hard he works if sometimes he does not score for a game ...it is impressive."
Kompany was unhappy with Bayern's finish to the game though.
"Of course, I think for us for 80 minutes to be able to lead at home 4-0 it was a pretty complete game until that point.
"The way we finished the game in the last 10 minutes is something we need to review with the players.
"You can sometimes concede a goal but if you concede momentum you give the other team a chance and that is what happened," Kompany added.
It all started well for Bayern, who face Celtic in the Champions League playoff this month, with Jamal Musiala putting them in the driving seat in the 19th minute after the visitors had missed a golden early chance through Phil Harres.
It was then Kane's turn to score, heading in from a Kingsley Coman cross in first-half stoppage time.
He notched his 19th league goal of the season with another header a minute after the restart, this time with Raphael Guerreiro providing the cross.
Bayern did not stop there though, adding a fourth goal through Serge Gnabry in the 54th after the substitute spectacularly controlled the ball in the box and volleyed home.
Instead of an expected rout, however, the visitors battled back and Finn Porath scored in the 62nd.
Steven Skrzybski then bagged the first of his two goals in the first minute of stoppage time, scoring the other two minutes later with the Bayern backline by that time in disarray.