Harry Kane scored his 100th goal for Bayern Munich in record quick time as Vincent Kompany's team eased to a 4-0 win over Werder Bremen. The England international brought up his century for the Bundesliga leaders with a brace to make him the fastest player in Europe's top five leagues to reach that milestone. And goals from Luiz Diaz and Konrad Laimer either side of his efforts sealed a thumping victory.
BAYERN EXTEND WINNING RUN
After winning seven matches in a row in all competitions, Bayern, naturally, began this fixture in confident fashion, and had it not been for an inspired display from Arsenal loanee Karl Hein, Bremen would have been cut adrift in the opening 45 minutes.
Kane uncharacteristically dragged a shot wide early on, but was then brilliantly denied by the Estonian stopper when the England captain was through on goal. He could do nothing, however, when the irrepressible Michael Olise fired in a teasing cross and Jonathan Tah's backward flick ricocheted off an unsuspecting Luis Diaz in the 22nd minute to make it 1-0.
Hein once again denied former Tottenham star Kane when he seemed certain to score, but he was unable to keep out the 32-year-old's penalty after Marco Freidl clumsily brought him down in the box on the stroke of half-time. The visitors fired a warning shot of their own when full-back Yukinari Sugawara stung the hands of Manuel Neuer from a tight angle but in the 66th minute, it was 3-0 when Kane swept the ball home after Diaz's shot from the edge of the area was blocked.
The away team thought they pulled a goal back through Wisdom Mike but the forward was adjudged to have been offside, and then to make matters worse, Konrad Laimer danced past a challenge and scored from a tight angle three minutes from time.
This was a night to remember for Bayern as they went five points clear at the top of the table and Kane made history with his 100th goal for the club in record time.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE MVP
While former Crystal Palace star Olise looked the most dangerous and exciting player on the pitch, it was Kane's goals that ultimately got the job done. On another day, the Bayern striker could have had five of them, had it not been for the excellent Hein, but a 10th of the league season may keep him content for now. With this double, the forward took his tally for the campaign as a whole to 15 in just eight appearances in all competitions.
Incidentally, before the game, manager Kompany explained how Kane has taken his game to the next level.
"Harry Kane has always been a goalscorer, but I think he has opened up his game even more! The way he drops back, gets between the lines. In the end, that allows him to escape the attention of defenders," he said.
THE BIG LOSER
While Bremen were always likely to lose this game, especially after going behind through Diaz, captain Friedl may have put the game out of reach for his side with his sloppy foul on Kane. The England ace wasn't in a particularly threatening position, even for a player of his quality, but the 27-year-old stuck out a lazy leg, and Kane duly went over it to win the penalty. A comeback never looked likely and Bayern scored two more to romp to victory. But it could have, potentially, been a different story if Friedl had shown a bit more defensive care.
Getty Images SportWHAT COMES NEXT?
Bayern – who are five points ahead of second place Borussia Dortmund, although BVB do have a game in hand – take a break from the Bundesliga on Tuesday when they travel to Cypriot side Pafos in their next Champions League game. After beating Chelsea 3-1 in their league phase opener, Kompany's players will hope to build on that impressive victory when they head to Cyprus. After that, they return to the German top flight for a tricky game against Eintracht Frankfurt on October 4, in what is their last game before the latest international break.
