Harry Kane broke the record for most goals scored by a debutant in a Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich secured a 5-2 comeback win at bottom club Darmstadt to draw themselves within seven points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
The England captain was replaced after colliding with a post late in a contest in which Tim Skarke opened the scoring against the run of play in the 28th minute before his goal was cancelled out by the first of two from Jamal Musiala.
Kane, who earned an assist for the equaliser, nodded home his historic 31st goal in the German top flight before the break, when Oscar Vilhelmsson also came inches away with a crossbar-clipping effort.
Darmstadt lost momentum after Musiala extended Bayern’s advantage with a 64th-minute strike before Serge Gnabry and Mathys Tel added their names to the scoresheet, with Vilhelmsson only able to claw back a stoppage-time consolation.
Taking home the 𝐖 🛄
⚫️🟣 #SVDFCB 2-5 (FT) pic.twitter.com/SAh8F0AzqS
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2024
Bayern quickly got down to business with early efforts from Eric Dier, Joshua Kimmich and Kane, narrowly escaping danger when, despite dominating with over 80 per cent possession in the first 20 minutes, Mathias Honsak’s sharply deflected effort forced Manuel Neuer into an alert palmed save.
Darmstadt took an unlikely lead from a sequence that began with a lovely long ball from deep inside the hosts’ half, eventually allowing the agile Honsak to evade a pair of Bayern defenders and release Skarke, who slotted past Neuer into the bottom right.
Bayern looked to reply quickly as Musiala completely missed his target with a close-range header, but he made no mistake when Aleksandar Pavlovic pulled the ball back to Kane, who took a loose touch before teeing up Musiala’s low finish.
The England captain handed Bayern the lead on the stroke of half-time with an historic header from Kimmich’s cross, the goal standing after a VAR review and the lead preserved at the break after Vilhelmsson could only rattle the crossbar with his attempt at an equaliser.
This is a Jamal Musiala appreciation tweet 💜💎 pic.twitter.com/RYpD5TDmfA
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 16, 2024
Musiala extended Bayern’s advantage with a fine bit of footwork to weave through a sea of blue shirts before sending a strike through Schuhen’s legs, the ball appearing to deflect off the foot of the Darmstadt keeper.
It was Musiala who set up Gnabry for Bayern’s fourth, playing through the substitute who slotted home three minutes after his 71st-minute introduction, then came inches away from a hat-trick when he clipped the crossbar from the right.
Kane crashed into a post as he looked to tuck in the rebound and was eventually replaced by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in what Gareth Southgate will hope was a precautionary measure after he was seen hobbling around the pitch.
Eight minutes of stoppage time were not going to be enough for Darmstadt especially after Tel bundled home, but Vilhelmsson did his best to send the home supporters home happier when he snatched back a late consolation with a flicked finish.
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