3 hours ago
7
Harry Kane scored once and helped set up another as Bayern Munich battled past Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga’s Klassiker to maintain their perfect start to the season with their seventh straight win.
Bayern had to survive considerable second-half pressure from the visitors before making sure of their 11th win in 11 matches across all competitions this season.
They lead the Bundesliga race with 21 points, five ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig. Dortmund, who suffered their first loss in 10 matches across all competitions, dropped to fourth on 14.
Kane gave the hosts a deserved lead when he scored his 12th league goal in seven matches with a glancing header from a Joshua Kimmich corner in the 22nd minute.
Dortmund tried to bounce back after the break, going close through Felix Nmecha before Karim Adeyemi fired over the bar from close range in the 67th.
Kane, who scored twice in England’s 5-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday to secure World Cup qualification, then sent a stunning 60-metre pass for Luis Díaz who cut into the Dortmund box for Olise to finish the move in the 79th minute.
The visitors pulled a goal back through Julian Brandt’s tap-in five minutes later and piled on the pressure to inject late drama into the game.
The substitute Ronald Araújo scored three minutes into added time as Barcelona secured a 2-1 win over a stubborn Girona in La Liga. Barcelona took the lead in the 13th minute, when Pedri received Lamine Yamal’s quick ball into the box and ran across the defensive line before dispatching a low left-footed finish.
Yet Axel Witsel’s spectacular bicycle kick off Arnau Martínez’s header levelled for Girona seven minutes later. The hosts pushed hard for the winner with five shots on target in the first 30 minutes of the second half and their efforts were finally rewarded when the late substitute Araújo struck in added time.
Araújo took his shirt off in celebration and was booked but Hansi Flick, his coach, was not around to see it as he had just been sent off for two yellows in added time.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo scored twice in the first half to guide them to a 4-3 victory in a thrilling clash at Mainz, stretching their record unbeaten run on the road in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen, who host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, moved up to 14 points in fifth place with their third straight league win while also extending their unbeaten league record to 37 consecutive away matches.
Grimaldo opened the scoring with an 11th-minute penalty before Christian Kofane doubled the lead 13 minutes later. Mainz briefly cut the deficit through Lee Jane-sung but Grimaldo punished the hosts for two consecutive defensive errors in first-half stoppage time to slot in and restore their two-goal cushion.
After the break the hosts hit a post and earned a 71st-minute penalty, with Nadiem Amiri putting them back in the game from the spot, but the visitors struck again with Martin Terrier slotting in from close range in the 87th. Mainz still had time to score another goal – in the 90th minute through Armindo Sieb – but could not find the equaliser in 10 minutes of added time.
The afternoon Bundesliga kick-offs were a warm-up for the big game of the day, Bayern Munich at home to Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker.
-
This story will be updated
English (US)