MUNICH, Germany — Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in Bayern Munich's 8-1 demolition of Mainz 05 on Saturday to set a Bundesliga record as the champions cut the gap on leaders Bayer Leverkusen to seven points.
Kane, who joined this season for a league record 100 million euros from Tottenham Hotspur, became the first player to score at least twice in eight different games in his first Bundesliga season.
He also equalled Uwe Seeler's record for most goals in a debut Bundesliga campaign by lifting his tally to 30.
Harry Kane sets a Bundesliga record
30 - Harry Kane scored his 30th goal of the season - only once before has a player scored that many goals in his first-ever Bundesliga season: Uwe Seeler also recorded 30 goals in the competition's inaugural season in 1963-64. Legends. #FCBM05 pic.twitter.com/7FAPR9wmzY
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 9, 2024
4 - Bayern's Harry Kane is the first player to score four Hat-Tricks in his debut season in Bundesliga. Storm. #FCBM05 pic.twitter.com/MnlRAktsef
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) March 9, 2024
The England captain also netted twice in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Lazio which took Bayern into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Bayern are on 57 points in second place in the standings ahead of Leverkusen's home game against VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Kane opened his account in 13th minute, tapping in from close range with the Bavarians desperate to hang on to their slim title chances after a bad run with only one win in their last four league games.
They added another through Leon Goretzka after Kane's effort bounced off the post seven minutes later.
Mainz briefly cut the deficit with Nadiem Amiri's thundering free kick and the visitors were pushing hard for a second goal before Kane restored order in first-half stoppage time.
The hosts overran Mainz from the start of the second half and Thomas Mueller completed a quick move to make it 4-1 in the 47th.
With the Mainz defense in complete disarray the hosts kept pouring forward and Jamal Musiala threaded a shot past the keeper before substitute Serge Gnabry's audacious mid-air backheel flick made it 6-1.
WHAT AN ASSIST FROM HARRY KANE FOR JAMAL MUSIALA'S GOAL pic.twitter.com/IC6VrSJC47
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 9, 2024
Kane completed his hat-trick from close range, nodding in on the rebound at the far post and Goretzka's header in stoppage time competed the rout.
HAT TRICK FOR HARRY KANE AND HE TIES THE RECORD FOR MOST-EVER GOALS IN A DEBUT BUNDESLIGA SEASON
No other player has scored four hattricks in their first-ever Bundesliga season pic.twitter.com/OrxPO2Fiu3— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 9, 2024
Bayern Munich vs. Mainz full highlights
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)