MUNICH (AFP) – Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thumped Mainz 8-1 on Saturday, equalling a 60-year-old record and keeping alive his team’s hopes of catching leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Kane, who also laid on two assists, now has 30 goals in his first season in Munich colours, matched the record for a maiden campaign set by German legend Uwe Seeler for Hamburg in 1963-64.
With nine games remaining, the England captain has also drawn nearer to the season record of 41 goals set by Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski in 2020-21.
The win was Bayern’s second biggest this season, just behind their 8-0 demolition of Darmstadt in October.
Midfielder Leon Goretzka, who scored a double, said: “It was a convincing win – the kind we’ve missed this season.”
The result meant Bayern were seven points behind Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Leverkusen before they faced Wolfsburg yesterday.
“It’s our duty to keep giving it everything we’ve got,” Goretzka said. “If Leverkusen get shaky, we’ve got to be there.”
Having sealed their progression to the Champions League quarter-finals last Tuesday with a 3-0 home win over Lazio, Bayern were direct and decisive against Mainz.
Outgoing manager Thomas Tuchel said midweek Bayern needed to “win, win, win” to have any chance of catching Alonso’s side and Kane obliged early, tapping in a Jamal Musiala pass after 13 minutes.
Kane had a header saved seven minutes later, but Leon Goretzka was on hand to knock in the rebound.
Nadiem Amiri wove an incredible free kick through Bayern’s defence shortly after but England striker Kane restored Bayern’s two-goal lead in first-half stoppage time, collecting a lofted Goretzka pass on the turn and blasting home.
Thomas Mueller added a fourth early in the second-half to break Mainz’s resistance, allowing Bayern to run riot, with further goals to Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Kane and Goretzka to bring the tally to eight.
The loss leaves Mainz in second last, nine points from safety.
Sporting director Martin Schmidt lamented his side’s openness, saying “we wanted to be courageous, but we were too courageous”.
