Berlin, Nov 23 (IANS) Harry Kane’s hat-trick paved the way for Bayern Munich’s 3-0 victory over stubborn Augsburg in the opening match of the 11th round in Bundesliga on Friday.
Bayern started on the front foot and went close after 13 minutes when Leon Goretzka had a promising shot saved before Joshua Kimmich attempted a close-range effort five minutes later.
Augsburg defended deep but couldn’t prevent Bayern from creating more chances, with goalkeeper Nediljko Labrovic having to be alert to deny Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala in quick succession in the 27th minute.
Bayern should have opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime, but neither Musiala nor Goretzka could beat Labrovic.
Bayern came out firing on all cylinders after the restart, as Goretzka hit the woodwork with a header in the 49th minute, while Musiala and Michael Olise missed further chances.
Augsburg helped Bayern break the deadlock on the hour mark when Mads Pedersen was penalized for handball. Kane stepped up and converted the resulting penalty to make it 1-0 in the 63rd minute.
Kingsley Coman had a chance to double the lead two minutes later, but the Frenchman’s shot hit the roof of the net.
The visitors once again helped Bayern to extend their lead when Keven Schlotterbeck was sent off for a second bookable offence in the dying minutes of the game after bringing down Kane in the area. Kane again held his nerve from the spot, curling the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to complete his brace.
The hosts made the most of their numerical advantage and tripled their lead when Kane controlled Goretzka’s pinpoint cross and slotted home his third goal of the night.
The result extended Bayern’s lead at the top of the table to eight points, while Augsburg remains 13th.
“I’m very happy today. We had a lot of chances. In the end, it’s typical Harry Kane. He went close a lot in the first half and at some point, it just happened. Three goals in 15 minutes is obviously great,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
–IANS
hs/
