Kane At The Double As Bayern Tighten Bundesliga Grip

Harry Kane scores twice as Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 to go nine points clear in the Bundesliga; Monaco stun Lens in Ligue 1.

IMAGE: Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane scores their third goal agajnst Eintracht Frankfurt during the Bundesliga at Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany, on Saturday. Photograph: Maryam Majd/Reuters

Harry Kane struck his eighth brace of the season as Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 on Saturday to stretch their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to nine points over Borussia Dortmund.

The holders are on 60 points, with Dortmund, who have a game in hand and face RB Leipzig later on Saturday, trailing in second place.

Bayern made their intentions clear early on. In the 16th minute Aleksandar Pavlovic fired in a volley from the edge of the box after a rebound, his effort slipping through the grasp of Frankfurt goalkeeper Kaua Santos and nestling just inside the bottom left corner.

Kane doubled the advantage four minutes later. Michael Olise swung in a corner to the near post, where a flick by Josip Stanisic sent the ball into the six-yard box and Kane ghosted between defenders to nod home.

The match slowed down under Munich’s heavy rain and Frankfurt had their chance to respond but Jonathan Burkardt struck the post from close range before Kane delivered another blow in the 68th minute.

After a defensive error as the visitors tried to play out from the back, the England captain seized possession on the edge of the area, turned sharply and curled a shot inside the left post for his second of the afternoon.

The double highlighted Kane’s rich vein of form — nine goals in six consecutive matches in all competitions — and lifted his league tally to 28 and 43 overall this season.

Bayern, however, allowed Frankfurt a route back into the match. In the 75th minute Kane conceded a penalty after catching Oscar Hojlund’s foot attempting to clear a corner. Burkardt blasted the spot-kick past 22-year-old goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, who started in place of the injured Manuel Neuer.

Frankfurt closed to within one goal in the 86th minute when a costly mix-up between Joshua Kimmich, Kim Min-Jae and Urbig under pressure gifted possession to Arnaud Kalimuendo, who tapped into an empty net.

Bayern held on to secure the points and tighten their grip on top spot with their 19th win in 23 league games this season.

Monaco rally stuns title-chasing Lens in Ligue 1

Ansu Fati scored the winner as Monaco came from two goals down to defeat title-chasing Lens 3-2 in a seesaw Ligue 1 clash at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Saturday, a result that will be cheered across Paris.

Lens lead the Ligue 1 table with 52 points from 23 matches, one point ahead of Paris St Germain, who host Metz later on Saturday. Monaco climbed to sixth with 34 points.

Lens looked on course for victory when Odsonne Edouard and Florian Thauvin gave them a 2-0 lead, but Monaco turned the game around in the second half.

Folarin Balogun pulled one back before quick goals by Denis Zakaria and Ansu Fati sealed victory.

Lens were ahead thanks to a spectacular volley from Edouard inside three minutes. A cross was headed into his path by Adrien Thomasson, and Edouard drilled the ball into the net from 15 yards.

They extended their advantage after 56 minutes as Thauvin reacted quickest to a rebound to score from close range.

But Monaco hit back six minutes later as Balogun took a pass from Mamadou Coulibaly and fired low into the net.

Two goals in as many minutes changed the game, however, as Zakaria’s bullet header from close range brought the scores level, before a moment of brilliance from Fati gave the visitors the lead.

He collected possession after a Lens defensive mistake on the halfway line before chipping the ball over goalkeeper Robin Risser.