The Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich conceded three goals in the second half but beat Holstein Kiel 4-3 on Saturday, with Harry Kane scoring twice to set a league record for most goals after 50 games.
Bayern eased off in the second half and let in three goals in the last 28 minutes in a shaky second-half performance, but held on for the win that opened a nine-point lead at the top.
Kane, the England captain, headed in either side of the break to take his league tally since joining Bayern in 2023 to 55 goals. “His quality is just unusual,” Bayern’s head coach, Vincent Kompany, said. “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. “The last 10 minutes is something we need to review with the players,” he said. “You can sometimes concede a goal but if you concede momentum you give the other team a chance and that is what happened.”
Jamal Musiala put Bayern, who face Celtic in the Champions League playoff in February, in the driving seat in the 19th minute after the visitors had missed a golden early chance through Phil Harres. Bayern’s fourth goal in the 54th was the most spectacular with Serge Gnabry controlling the ball in the box and volleying in. Finn Porath pulled a goal back in the 62nd. With the hosts easing off even more late in the game Kiel added two more goals in stoppage time through Steven Skrzybski.
The champions, Bayer Leverkusen, who are second, host Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund secured a nervous 2-1 victory over Heidenheim in the interim coach Mike Tullberg’s last game in charge, securing their first win in five league games. Niko Kovac will take over on Sunday at Dortmund, who went ahead in the 33rd minute with their top scorer Serhou Guirassy given far too much space in the box, allowing the Guinea international to tap in. Maximilian Beier slid in to connect with a , cutback after 63 minutes but the hosts pulled a goal back a minute later.
The La Liga leaders, Real Madrid, were stunned at lowly Espanyol on Saturday after losing 1-0 thanks to a late Carlos Romero strike.
Vinícius Júnior appeared to have given Madrid the lead in the 21st minute after latching on to Kylian Mbappé’s pass. However, the goal was disallowed after the Frenchman had fouled Espanyol’s Pol Lozano in the buildup.
The hosts kept Madrid at bay in the second half, with Lucas Vázquez, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham having efforts brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Joan García. Romero netted the winner in the 85th minute after latching on to Omar El Hilali’s pass.
Madrid were aggrieved when, on a breakaway, Romero fouled a running Mbappé from behind but was only shown a yellow card. “This foul is inexplicable, the decision they made, the referee, the VAR,” said the coach, Carlo Ancelotti. “The most important thing is to take care of the player and protect him. It was a very bad tackle that risked injury, which fortunately did not happen.”
The result means Madrid, on 49 points, are one point clear of Atlético Madrid, who beat Mallorca 2-0. The city rivals face each other next Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu. Goals by the winger Samuel Lino and forward Antoine Griezmann secured Atlético’s win in Diego Simeone’s 500th La Liga game in charge. Lino put the home side in front in the 26th minute with a low strike inside the far post before Griezmann doubled the advantage in stoppage time, lobbing the Mallorca goalkeeper, Dominik Greif, from distance.
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Atlético, who on Wednesday booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a dominant 4-1 win at Salzburg, were winless in their previous two league games.
Ousmane Dembélé scored his second hat-trick of the week and Gonçalo Ramos got a late brace as Paris Saint-Germain clinched a 5-2 win at Brest to remain unbeaten after 20 Ligue 1 matches.
Dembélé, who struck three times in PSG’s 4-1 win at Stuttgart in the Champions League on Wednesday, opened the scoring for the visitors just before the half hour, tapping into an empty net from Bradley Barcola’s short cross. Romain Del Castillo equalises early in the second half but Dembélé was quick to restore PSG’s lead in the 57th minute. He scored his third five minutes later.
Ludovic Ajorque’s 71st-minute strike was not enough to save the hosts, with Ramos scoring twice for PSG late on. The champions are 13 points ahead of second-placed Marseille, who play their game in hand at home to Lyon on Sunday.
“Ousmane can become the player he wants to be,” PSG’s coach, Luis Enrique, told beIN Sports. “If he remains confident in front of goal, he has no equal. He can score in any position, even with his head. He’s a phenomenal player.”
Source: theguardian.com
