Darmstadt stung by Kane in truly wild encounter
Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the Bundesliga season – including a goal from his own half – as 10-man Bayern Munich bounced back from a goalless first 45 minutes to beat nine-man Darmstadt 8-0 on a crazy afternoon at Allianz Arena.
Joshua Kimmich was sent off after just four minutes, but red cards for Klaus Gjasula and Matej Maglica ensured the hosts had the man advantage at the break, the first time three men have ever been sent off in the first half of a German top-flight encounter.
Kane broke the deadlock six minutes after the restart but it was his second goal, a magnificent effort from inside his own half, that was the highlight of a contest that also saw him pick up an assist on the first of two goals for Jamal Musiala before striking in his 12th goal from nine matches of this still-new Bundesliga season.
Leroy Sane, who set up Kane’s third, scored two of his own while Thomas Muller also contributed to the heaviest defeat in newly-promoted Darmstadt's history.
Things got off to a dramatic start when Kimmich brought down Marvin Mehlem at the edge of the area and was shown a straight red, deemed to have prevented the visitors from a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Bayern was initially awarded a penalty after Gjasula was judged to have tripped Konrad Laimer, but on review referee Martin Petersen overturned his decision, determining Gjasula was the last man and the incident occurred outside the penalty area, resulting in the Albanian’s 21st-minute dismissal and a free-kick for the hosts.
Darmstadt was holding its own against the Bundesliga title-holder in the 10 v 10, even holding the shot advantage through the first 37 minutes, but became the architect of its own undoing when Maglica fouled Kane in nearly the exact same spot as the previous red-card incident.
The outcome was the same though the visitors, down to nine men, were able to sustain the deadlock to half-time despite threats from Kane and Sane, who had a goal chalked off for offside.
It was a different story after the restart when Kane broke the deadlock with a diving header to open the scoring six minutes into the second half, five minutes before Sane tapped home Laimer’s cross from six yards.
Then it was Musiala’s turn, extending to the advantage to 3-0 with an assist from Kane and throwing open the floodgates in the process as Sane bagged his brace with an 18-yard strike past Schuhen four minutes later.
Then came Kane’s piece de resistance, a world-class strike from just inside the Bayern half, sending Marcel Schuhen on a futile scramble as he watched the ball touch down in the back of his net.
Muller made it six with his first goal of the season before Musiala slotted past Schuhen for Bayern’s seventh, and while the Darmstadt keeper made several good saves, desperate not to see his side lose by double-digits, he could not keep out Kane's third.
The England captain, hungry for more, latched into a perfect pass from Sane to complete his hat-trick despite very close attention from the defence, and relentless Bayern’s second-half rout was complete.
