Leaders Bayern Munich rebuilt their six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga after Harry Kane and hat-trick hero Luis Díaz combined to fend off plucky Hoffenheim 5-1 on Sunday. England forward Kane scored two penalties won by Colombia winger Díaz, who then netted three times against the 10-man visitors.
Leaders Bayern Munich rebuilt their six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga after Harry Kane and hat-trick hero Luis Díaz combined to fend off plucky Hoffenheim 5-1 on Sunday.
England forward Kane scored two penalties won by Colombia winger Díaz, who then netted three times against the 10-man visitors.
Bayern had lost and drawn their last two games to let an 11-point advantage slip. Borussia Dortmund won for a fifth straight league match in a late 2-1 win at Wolfsburg on Saturday to temporarily trim the gap to three.
Hoffenheim, enjoying a dream season in third spot despite yet more boardroom squabbles, saw Kevin Akpoguma harshly sent off for bringing down Díaz for the first penalty after just 17 minutes.
But the visitors levelled after first peppering Bayern's goal. Manuel Neuer made a great save but then committed a grave error when he tried to chip Fisnik Asllani close to his own goal.
The Kosovo striker brought the ball down and set up Andrej Kramarić for an easy finish which embarrassed the Germany World Cup winner.
But a second Kane spot-kick, which he dispatched into the same corner after Díaz had again been fouled by Vladimir Coufal, put the home side back ahead.
Diaz's clever no-backlift finish after Kane repaid the favour settled matters before half-time.
The tricky winger turned in Michael Olise's low cross after the hour and completed his hat-trick late on as defending champions Bayern went six clear after 21 of 34 games.
Vincent Kompany's side are next in action at home to RB Leipzig in the German Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Christoph Baumgartner's classy double earlier pushed Leipzig back into the Champions Leagues places as they won for the first time in three Bundesliga games with a 2-1 victory at mid-table Cologne.
The Austria midfielder cleverly headed in David Raum's first-half free-kick but Jan Thielmann's strike brought the hosts level, only for Baumgartner to quickly fire in the winner after a sharp turn.
The 56th-minute goal followed a fine move which belied Leipzig's recent patchy form. The Red Bulls had looked like being Bayern's main title challengers for much of the first half of the season but will now be happy with a fourth-placed finish.
They are now above fifth-placed VfB Stuttgart, who surprisingly lost at St Pauli on Saturday, on goal difference. Bayer Leverkusen are three points behind but have a game in hand.
This is the first season since Leipzig's maiden Bundesliga campaign in 2016-17 where they have not been in European competition.
Thielmann almost equalized again for Cologne on 75 minutes when Baumgartner blocked his shot just before the line and the ball came off his leg and hit his outstretched arm as he fell backwards.
It looked accidental but after much deliberation over a penalty between the referee and video assistants, it was decided there was a marginal offside in the build-up and the match-winner's blushes was spared.
Category: General Sports