European football: Kane fires hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrash Hoffenheim

1 hour ago 1

Bayern Munich maintained their flawless start in the Bundesliga by beating Hoffenheim 4-1 away on Saturday after Harry Kane netted two penalties and bagged his ninth hat-trick for the German league leaders.

It was Kane’s second hat-trick of the campaign, after a second-half treble in their season opener against RB Leipzig, and he moved five clear at the top of the scoring charts with eight league goals in four matches.

The victory moved Bayern up to 12 points while Hoffenheim are six points behind in eighth place.

With Christian Ilzer’s Hoffenheim in the ascendancy, Vincent Kompany’s Bayern looked as if they might be made to work for their three points on a hot day in south-western Germany. “I told Christian that they were better than us in the first half,” Kompany said. “We showed a reaction in the second half and played very well. I’m very happy with the win.

“I wasn’t surprised. We just played a tough game against Chelsea midweek, with all the hype that surrounded the win. Then we came here to a difficult ground.”

Real Madrid maintained their flawless start in La Liga with a 2-0 victory over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu courtesy of goals from Éder Militão and Kylian Mbappé in either half, handing their rivals their first defeat of the campaign.

Real Madrid sit comfortably atop the standings on 15 points after five matches, five clear of Espanyol and Barcelona, with the reigning champions having a game in hand before they host Getafe on Sunday.

The centre-back Militão opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a stunning strike from 30 metres, his thunderous right-footed effort leaving Espanyol keeper Marko Dmitrovic no chance as it flew into the top-left corner.

Mbappé extended their lead shortly after the break, curling a precise shot into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the box, assisted by a marauding Vinícius Júnior.

Kylian Mbappé scores from distance.
Kylian Mbappé fires in a shot from distance to double Real Madrid’s lead. Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP

Dani Carvajal, the captain, told Real Madrid TV: “I’m happy. I think we played a complete game. We suffered very little defensively against a well organised, very intense opponent, who had 10 points out of 12 to start the season. We’re still at the top of the table and we’ve achieved our goal today.”

Verona fought back to hold Juventus to a 1-1 draw, ending the visitors’ three-match winning streak in Serie A as Gift Orban’s equaliser from the penalty spot in the 44th minute cancelled out Francisco Conceição’s strike.

Conceição, making his first appearance since suffering a muscle injury earlier this month, scored in the 19th minute when he picked up Khéphren Thuram’s pass and cut in from the right, dribbling past two Verona players before finishing with his left foot from the edge of the box.

A handball by João Mário in the box set up the hosts’ equaliser, and the Juventus goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, got his hand on Orban’s penalty but it still went in.

Verona, looking for their first win this season, thought they had taken the lead when their captain, Suat Serdar, found the net with a header in the 67th minute, but a review by the video assistant referee ruled him offside and the hosts got their third draw in four league matches.

Milan took advantage of Juventus’s slip to move to within a point. Christian Pulisic marked his return to the starting lineup with two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win at Udinese that lifted the visitors to third. Milan are on nine points, the same as Napoli who have a match in hand, and one behind Juve.

Christian Pulisic celebrates scoring Milan’s third goal at Udinese.
Christian Pulisic celebrates scoring Milan’s third goal, his second, at Udinese, on the American’s return to the starting XI. Photograph: Daniele Mascolo/Reuters

Pulisic had been on the bench for Milan’s last two games but, restored to the starting XI, made a major impact, breaking the deadlock in the 40th minute when Pervis Estupiñán’s cross from the left was deflected towards his own goal by Udinese’s Thomas Kristensen. While the goalkeeper Razvan Sava instinctively stopped the ball crossing the line, it rebounded perfectly into Pulisic’s path.

Milan’s lead was doubled inside the first minute of the second half when Pulisic challenged Jesper Karlstrom for the ball in the Udinese penalty area, forcing it to spill into the path of Youssouf Fofana, who cut inside and shot a low effort into the back of the net.

Pulisic got his second goal in the 53rd minute to end home hopes, catching out Sava at his near post as he squeezed in a tight shot.

It was Udinese’s first defeat of the season, leaving them on seven points and sixth in the Italian top flight.

This story will be updated

Read Entire Article
Infrastruktur | | | |