Harry Kane made it 17 Bundesliga goals from just 11 games before Bayern Munich survived a scare to beat Heidenheim 4-2 and temporarily go top of the table on Saturday.
The England striker's double means he has now scored one more than the joint top scorers did in last season's entire Bundesliga campaign as his record-breaking start to life in Germany continues.
"I'm really enjoying it, the team around me are creating chances. I had a couple of chances in the second half, the two I scored were harder than the two I missed," Kane told Sky as he and Bayern (42) set scoring records after 11 Bundesliga games.
"This is not a game people will remember at the end of the season but these are victories you have to get."
But Heidenheim – in their first ever Bundesliga season – scored two goals in three second-half minutes before Bayern substitutes Raphael Guerreiro and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting sealed the home victory.
VfB Stuttgart beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 thanks to a late penalty dispatched by the returning Serhou Guirassy as the hosts extended their advantage in third over the fourth-placed visitors.
Augsburg coach Jess Thorup – now unbeaten in his first four games – was again the comeback king in a 1-1 draw at home to Hoffenheim where a firecracker injured a home fan and led to a short match suspension.
Darmstadt – without coach Torsten Lieberknecht due to family reasons – drew 0-0 with Mainz, whose interim coach Jan Siewert picked up a fourth point in two games as he looks to seal the job full-time.
Bottom side Cologne drew 1-1 at Bochum in the late game.
Bayer Leverkusen can return to the summit with a win at home to struggling Union Berlin on Sunday, when RB Leipzig also welcome Freiburg and Werder Bremen face Eintracht Frankfurt.
On Friday, Borussia Mönchengladbach hammered visitors Wolfsburg 4-0.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel made five changes from the midweek Champions League win over Galatasaray, where Kane scored two more.
Aleksandar Pavlovic, 19, made his maiden Bayern start in midfield with Leon Goretzka unfit while full back Bouna Sarr was in a Bundesliga starting line-up for the first time since April 2021.
The changes made no difference as England captain Kane turned superbly in the box on 14 minutes and fired in at the near post.
He was somehow completely unmarked when he powerfully headed in a corner just before the break as Bayern – champions the last 11 seasons – went a point above fellow unbeaten side Leverkusen.
Kane later missed a chance for a fourth hat-trick for Bayern before Tim Kleindienst and Jan-Niklas Beste suddenly had the visitors level.
Bayern quickly hit back, with Guerreiro scoring on 72 after Choupo-Moting's shot was parried and the Cameroon man soon nodded in.
Dortmund, with the same starters who won against Newcastle in the Champions League on Tuesday, visited a Stuttgart side boosted by the return of top scorer Guirassy to the bench after injury.
It was Guirassy's replacement Deniz Undav who won an early penalty when he was tripped by Gregor Kobel, but the Dortmund keeper then saved Chris Führich's weak spot-kick.
Mats Hummels had to be substituted midway through a wild first half where Stuttgart wasted some huge chances.
Niclas Füllkrug, joint top scorer in the Bundesliga last term with Christopher Nkunku, then netted from close range at the near post after a mistake by hapless ex-Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou.
But Undav grabbed a deserved equalizer with his left foot on 42 minutes and Guirassy converted the winner for his 15th league goal after Kobel was again perhaps harshly adjudged to have fouled.
"It was an extremely weak performance," said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic, whose side lost 4-0 to Bayern last weekend.
- Bayern Munich
- Harry Kane
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
