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Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane came off the bench to score a second-half hat-trick as the club dismantled Stuttgart 5-0 on Saturday in the Bundesliga, adding another emphatic performance to their campaign at the top of the table.
Kane struck three times after the interval to break Stuttgart’s early resistance, while Bayern had rested several key players, including Manuel Neuer and Jonathan Tah.
Contributing from the bench, Kane emphasised the importance of helping the team regardless of starting status, reflecting on the challenges of a congested fixture schedule.
Stuttgart had initially started well, with Nicolas Jackson testing Bayern’s defence, but Konrad Laimer opened the scoring with a delicate backheel in the 11th minute.
The visitors almost equalised before half-time, only for Nikolas Nartey’s header to be ruled out after a VAR review.
The match turned decisively when Kane entered in the second half, doubling Bayern’s lead with a precise strike from the edge of the area.
Josip Stanisic added a third goal before Kane completed his hat-trick, converting a late penalty following a handball by Lorenz Assignon and finishing with a tap-in to complete the rout.
The England striker now has 17 league goals this season and 28 across all competitions.
Bayern remain eight points clear at the summit after RB Leipzig comfortably beat Frankfurt 6-0 in the day’s late kick-off.
Leipzig’s Conrad Harder opened the scoring within five minutes, assisted by Christoph Baumgartner, before Harder later set up Baumgartner for a second.
Yan Diomande struck twice after half-time, with David Raum converting a penalty, and Diomande completed his hat-trick to secure Leipzig’s emphatic victory.
Elsewhere, Christian Eriksen inspired Wolfsburg to their first home win in nearly a year, guiding them to a 3-1 triumph over Union
Berlin. Patrick Wimmer and Mohamed Amoura scored in the first half before Eriksen set up Lovro Majer after half-time.
Union pulled one back late through Stanley Nsoki, but Leopold Querfeld missed a late penalty, confirming Wolfsburg’s long-awaited victory.
Augsburg recorded a shock 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in their first match since sacking coach Sandro Wagner, thanks to first-half goals from Dimitris Giannoulis and Anton Kade.
Meanwhile, St Pauli avoided their tenth consecutive defeat, drawing 1-1 with Cologne after English striker Ricky-Jade Jones scored a late equaliser.
Heidenheim repeated last week’s late heroics, coming from behind to beat Freiburg 2-1, with Stefan Schimmer netting in the 94th minute to secure the dramatic victory.
