Kane hat-trick lifts leaders Bayern, Leverkusen also win again

Harry Kane ended a month-long scoring drought in style with a hat-trick as leaders Bayern Munich returned to winning ways with a 4-0 Bundesliga triumph over VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.

Kane drilled into the bottom corner from long range in the 57th, struck again three minutes later, and tapped home the third in the 80th.

Kingsley Coman wrapped up matters against last season's runners-up in the 89th as Bayern ended a run of three games without victory and get confidence for next week's Champions League trip to Barcelona where they will face their former coach Hansi Flick.

Bayern retained first place in the table for another matchday, ahead on goal difference over RB Leipzig who won 2-0 at Mainz from Xavi Simons and Willi Orban. Freiburg are third after beating Augsburg 3-1.

Leverkusen also win

Champions Bayer Leverkusen also returned to winning ways when Victor Boniface and Robert Andrich made up for earlier blunders in a 2-1 comeback victory over in-form Eintracht Frankfurt, who had led from league top scorer Omar Marmoush.

Leverkusen got a first win after two league draws and rose into fourth past Frankfurt, whose unbeaten run ended after five games.

Pavlovic shock and Kane joy

Last season's runners-up Stuttgart did not sit back in Munich who had drawn their last league matches against Leverkusen and Frankfurt, and lost at Aston Villa in the Champions League.

But chances were however sparse, with Serge Gnabry aiming wide for Bayern who lost midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic early with what Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl later said was potentially a broken collarbone.

Kane just failed to connect with Gnabry's low ball across goal after the break before Josha Vagnoman fired over on Stuttgart's best chance.

Kane then unleashed from a distance in the 57th to beat Bayern loanee Alexander Nübel into the bottom left corner. Three minutes on he had a first shot blocked but controlled the ball well on the rebound to fire home for 2-0.

He completed his seventh hat-trick in a Bayern shirt before Coman also got on the scoresheet.

"We didn't find a way in the previous games and in the first half. We took the game to another level in the second half," Kane told Sky TV.

He added on his goals: "It was nice to see it go in and from then on the game opened up. I believe in myself and my ability and my teammates."

Stuttgart forward Deniz Undav conceded that "Bayern were better in every aspect. But we had chances to give the match a different direction."

Leverkusen fight back

Leverkusen had a big chance to take an early lead when Junior Dina Ebimbe fouled Amine Adli. But Boniface's penalty was so poorly executed that Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp, back from an injury lay-off, could easily hold on to the ball.

Frankfurt did better in the 16th from the spot, also after a long review. Andrich made contact with Marmoush who converted for his ninth season goal past Finland's Lukas Hradecky, who became the first non-German goalkeeper to play 300 Bundesliga matches.

Andrich made amends when he scored the 1-1 equalizer into the far corner to complete a slick attacking move in the 25th. Boniface also came good when he headed the 72nd-minute winner after Trapp had fluffed an attempted clearance off Florian Wirtz' cross.

Hugo Ekitike almost levelled in stoppage time but failed to control a header in front of an empty net under big pressure from Jonathan Tah, after Hradecky's clearance had hit Tah.

Frankfurt felt robbed of "a clear penalty", according to their board member for sport, Markus Krösche. Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso named Tah's challenge "very intelligent."

Andrich said: "We are very happy today. We were very focussed. A missed penalty can happen and I then conceded one but we weren't deterred. I scored a nice goal and we managed to turn the match around."

The other games

Elsewhere, new Germany striker Tim Kleindienst scored a brace for Borussia Mönchengladbach in a 3-2 victory against his former club Heidenheim. Hoffenheim ended a run of five games without victory by beating winless bottom club Bochum 3-1.

Borussia Dortmund defeated St Pauli Hamburg 2-1 on Friday. The Sunday games are Holstein Kiel v Union Berlin and Wolfsburg v Werder Bremen.