Kane scores 2 more as Bayern beats Dortmund in Klassiker to open 11-point lead in Bundesliga
BERLIN (AP) — Harry Kane scored twice again and Bayern Munich opened an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga with a 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday.
Joshua Kimmich let fly with his left boot to score the winner with a volley in the 87th minute, just four minutes after Daniel Svensson equalized for Dortmund with a brilliant volley inside the left post.
Nico Schlotterbeck put Dortmund 1-0 up at the break, but Serge Gnabry set up Kane’s response and the England star got his second from the penalty spot — after a foul by Schlotterbeck on Josip Stanisic — to take his league tally to 30 goals this season.
Kane has scored two goals or more for the fourth successive game and is threatening Robert Lewandowski’s season record of 41.
Dortmund disappointed
It's the second painful defeat for Dortmund in as many games after its Champions League exit to Atalanta on Wednesday despite going into their playoff second leg with a 2-0 advantage.
Dortmund top scorer Serhou Guirassy and defender Ramy Bensebaini started as substitutes with coach Niko Kovac explaining that Ramadan fasting was impacting the Muslim players’ fitness.
“It takes a lot of energy if you can’t eat and drink all day,” Kovač said. “That’s why I couldn’t bring the guys on today. We have the data. You can see that if the players can’t eat and drink it has an impact on performance.”
Schlotterbeck headed the opener from a free kick against the run of play in the 26th.
The Dortmund defender was somewhat fortunate to be on the field after escaping with a yellow card for a bad challenge on Stanišić just minutes before.
Dortmund captain Emre Can had to go off before the break with a suspected left knee injury.
Dayot Upamecano almost equalized after the break when he crashed against the post, and Kane finally got Bayern’s reply in the 54th with an easy finish to Gnabry’s cross.
Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel got his left hand to the ball but couldn’t stop the penalty flying in under the crossbar for Kane’s 45th goal of the season across all competitions.
Kovač made three changes in the 75th, including sending on 17-year-old Italian forward Samuele Inacio for his Bundesliga debut.
Svensson celebrated with a somersault after drawing Dortmund level, but Bayern wasn't finished.
Ten rounds remain and only an improbable collapse will stop Bayern from making it 13 Bundesliga titles in the 14 years since Dortmund won it back-to-back in 2012.
“We have an 11-point advantage," Kimmich said, "we're not going to give it away.”
Bremen ends winless streak
Werder Bremen finally ended its 13-game run without a win by beating relegation rival Heidenheim 2-0 in their bottom-of-the-table scrap.
Bremen missed a host of chances before Jovan Milosevic scored from Romano Schmid’s cross in the 57th minute, and an own goal from Hennes Behrens in stoppage time confirmed Bremen’s first win after three defeats under new coach Daniel Thioune.
It was enough to lift Bremen above Wolfsburg into the relegation playoff place. Wolfsburg, which hasn’t won its last six games, visits Stuttgart on Sunday.
Heidenheim remained last, nine points from safety after St. Pauli held on for a 1-0 win at high-flying Hoffenheim.
Mathias Pereira Lage scored for St. Pauli before the break, lifting the Hamburg-based club out of the relegation zone after its third win from four games.
Kevin Diks scored a stoppage-time penalty for Borussia Mönchengladbach to beat Union Berlin 1-0 and end the Foals’ seven-game winless run.
Jarell Quansah scored late for Bayer Leverkusen to salvage a 1-1 draw with Mainz, canceling Sheraldo Becker’s second-half volley for Mainz.
But the draw is a blow to Leverkusen’s hopes of reaching fourth place in the race for Champions League qualification. Leverkusen remained sixth, and both Stuttgart and Leipzig could pull further away. Leipzig visits Hamburger SV on Sunday.
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