Kane helps Bayern maintain unbeaten start
Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich maintain its unbeaten start with a 3-1 win at Mainz.
Kingsley Coman and Kane put ruthless Bayern 2-0 up inside 16 minutes before Anthony Caci pulled a goal back just before the break.
Leon Goretzka restored Bayern’s two-goal lead just before the hour and Bayern remains unbeaten, sitting third in the Bundesliga, two points behind Bayer Leverkusen at the top.
Mainz is still looking for its first league win of the season and stays second bottom with just two points from eight games.
Kane, fresh from his brace in the 3-1 win over Italy which helped England qualify for UEFA Euro 2024, now has nine league goals in eight games.
Joshua Kimmich had fired a speculative effort off target before Bayern scored two quick-fire goals.
After 11 minutes Coman was left free on the right to receive Leroy Sane’s ball and fire in a low shot from 15 yards after a rapid Bayern counter.
Three minutes later the hosts nearly levelled when Sven Ulreich denied Lee Jae-sung.
Kane had failed to score in Bayern’s previous two games, the Champions League win in Copenhagen and the 3-0 win over Freiburg earlier this month but grabbed a second five minutes later.
A short free-kick from Bayern was eventually tossed into the box and Kane headed in from close range after Goretzka had nodded the ball back from the byline to put Bayern in control.
Mainz had scored just six goals in its first seven games of the season but grabbed a lifeline two minutes before the break when Caci beat Ulreich from a tight angle to get the hosts back into the game.
Kimmich tried his luck just after the break and after 58 minutes Mainz was inches away when Danny da Costa teed up Stefan Bell to fire just wide – it was a miss which it paid for just a minute later.
The hosts failed to clear and Goretzka collected Jamal Musiala’s pass on the edge of the area to find the bottom corner to make it 3-1.
Bayern, chasing down Leverkusen which won 2-1 at Wolfsburg earlier in the day, took its foot off the pedal with the game won.
It travels next to Galatasaray for the UEFA Champions League knowing victory, a third, would put it in charge of Group A.
Thomas Muller came off the bench for the final two minutes and Bayern ran down the clock for an ultimately comfortable victory.
