Kane turns provider as Bayern stays top

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Harry Kane assisted Joshua Kimmich and Lennart Karl either side of half-time, and although Phillip Tietz scored a consolation in second-half stoppage-time, the reigning champion was able to see the win through with relative ease.

Bayern broke the deadlock after 14 minutes, with Kimmich taking in a pass from Kane before rifling into the top-right corner, leaving Robin Zentner no chance of making a save.

Mainz thought it had levelled on the stroke of half-time through Lee Jae-sung, who headed in from Nadiem Amiri's cross after Manuel Neuer came out and missed the ball, injuring himself in the process, but the Mainz midfielder was offside.

Bayern controlled proceedings early in the second half and got a deserved second goal shortly before the mark, with Karl placing a simple finish into the bottom-left corner after being teed up by Kane, who had seen his initial effort saved by Zentner.

Benedict Hollerbach almost caught Jonas Urbig out from distance, only to see his attempt land on the roof of the net, but the Bayern substitute goalkeeper was beaten in the 92nd minute as Tietz headed in from Hollerbach's cross.

Kimmich paid tribute to Kane after the match, noting the England captain's decision to stay with Bayern by signing a new contract last week as a big boost for the club.

"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."

Assistant coach Aaron Danks said he was delighted to come away with another win in the absence of head coach Vincent Kompany, who continues his recovery from a collapse last month.

"We're really pleased to come away with a victory," 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."