Hat-trick hero Kane leads Bayern to victory

FC Bayern downed VfB Stuttgart 4-0 in Saturday's Bundesliga top match to stay top of the table. The man of the evening was Harry Kane, who bagged a hat-trick after a goalless first half to put an end to his drought of three matches for Bayern without a goal. Kingsley Coman added a fourth in the closing stages.

Bayern lined up with Manuel Neuer in goal and Raphaël Guerreiro, Dayot Upamecano, Minjae Kim and Alphonso Davies in defence. Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović anchored a midfield featuring Michael Olise, Thomas Müller and Serge Gnabry, with Kane up front. Pavlović had to be replaced with a knock early in the game, João Palhinha taking over. Konrad Laimer, Leroy Sané, Coman and Leon Goretzka came on for Guerreiro, Pavlović, Olise and Upamecano in the second half.

No goals in first 45

Bayern dominated possession and had the first chance when Gnabry fired wide from the edge of the box. Deniz Undav miscued at the other end before Müller saw an effort saved by keeper Alexander Nübel and Kane's square ball evaded Gnabry.

The pace dropped as Stuttgart sat deeper, with clear-cut chances few and far between. Kane headed wide and a Davies shot was deflected behind, with Nübel denying a tame Olise effort. Kane directed a header onto the roof of the net as it remained goalless at half-time.

Kane ends drought in style

Munich created more promising chances after the restart. Gnabry's square had a little too much on it for Kane to convert, with Stuttgart's Josha Vagnoman firing over at the other end. Bayern finally took the lead when Kane unleashed a low drive that found the bottom corner of the net from 30 yards out. FCB loanee Nübel saved another Kane effort but was unable to prevent the striker from doubling the lead when Müller set him up with a fine back-heel, the Englishman seeing his shot blocked but netting the rebound.

Kane wasn't done there. He fired over from a promising position on the edge of the box but rounded off his hat-trick when he was on hand to mop up after a Palhinha shot was blocked. Our No.9 soon found the net for a fourth time, but this one was chalked off for offside. Coman added the final flourish when he sidestepped a defender before curling past Nübel in the closing minutes.

The result means Bayern top the table on 17 points from seven matches, ahead of RB Leipzig on goal difference. The Bavarians will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to face Barcelona in the Champions League.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen