Kimmich salutes 'special' Kane after Ballon d'Or winners breaks another Bundesliga record

  • Harry Kane created even further Bundesliga history on Saturday, with his pair of assists helping Bayern Munich to victory over Mainz.

Joshua Kimmich expressed his delight at "special" team-mate Harry Kane committing his future to Bayern Munich, following Saturday's victory over Mainz.

The recently crowned Ballon d'Or winner ended speculation surrounding his future earlier this week, by penning a new deal with the Bundesliga champions until 2029.

Kane celebrated his latest landmark by creating further Bundesliga history in the 2-1 win over Mainz, during which he set up both goals.

That took his assist tally for the season to eight already, which is the highest by any player after the opening nine matchdays of a German top-flight campaign.

And Kimmich, who opened the scoring at the MEWA Arena, paid tribute to the England captain.

"Obviously, I'm delighted for the Bundesliga that he'll continue playing here," he said. "But I'm especially delighted for us, not just because of his goals, but also because of the kind of person he is.

"He's one of the reasons why everything is working so well in the dressing room. He's won the Ballon d'Or, but he's still willing to do absolutely anything for the team.

"He's someone who's always there for every team-mate, and that's really special."

Lennart Karl was also on target for Bayern, who held on for victory despite Phillip Tietz's last-gasp strike. It was enough to keep them top of the Bundesliga table, ahead of Borussia Dortmund on goal difference.

"We're really pleased to come away with a victory," assistant coach Aaron Danks said. "We're a little disappointed to concede the goal at the end.

"A clean sheet would have been important for us. But we know when we come here, we're in for a difficult game. The crowd, the atmosphere, the work the coaching staff do and the players, it's always a difficult challenge for us.

"We had to suffer little moments of momentum where they had lots of set pieces and put balls into our box. But I thought, overall, we showed up, and we stood up to that quite well. So, we'll leave positive and happy that we've got the win."