Bayern Munich‘s Harry Kane scored a hat trick as they crushed promoted Holstein Kiel 6-1 away on Saturday to lead the Bundesliga after three matches with a maximum nine points.
It was a fourth straight win in all competitions this season under new coach Vincent Kompany and with Bayern eager to reclaim top spot after losing the title to Bayer Leverkusen last term.
Bayern are first on nine points, two clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in third.
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
The Bavarians, who welcome Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday, enjoyed an explosive opening to the match, netting three times in the first 13 minutes as Kiel made a disastrous start peppered with defensive errors.
Jamal Musiala slotted home after the hosts repeatedly failed to clear the ball in the first minute and England forward Kane doubled their lead six minutes later following a mistake by Lewis Holtby, whose pass was intercepted by Serge Gnabry.
Bayern kept up the pressure and were quickly rewarded with another defensive mistake from the nervous hosts that sent Musiala through. After dribbling past two defenders in the box, his cutback was turned in by Nicolai Remberg for an own goal.
Kane bagged his second just before the break with a shot in off the post and substitute Michael Olise slotted home on the rebound in the 65th for his first league goal before Kiel’s Armin Gigovic scored a late consolation.
England captain Kane, last season’s Bundesliga top scorer, made sure of his first hat trick of the season with a powerful penalty in stoppage time.
He now has four goals from three matches, as many as Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric, as well as two assists.
“I have said that this is just three games. I know, I know, for Bayern it is always important [to be in top spot]but it is three games at the moment,” Kompany, in his first season in charge, told a news conference when asked about going top of the table.
“Today it was good and then Tuesday must be good again and then again and that’s the way it goes again,” Kompany said.
“If we continue as we do now, maybe at the end of the season … I don’t even want to say it. We just have to keep going.”
