Kane helps Bayern extend Bundesliga lead as Dortmund held by Leipzig
Harry Kane notched his third consecutive Bundesliga brace, enabling Bayern Munich to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 and increase their advantage to eight points over pursuers Borussia Dortmund, who finished with a 2-2 draw against RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Bayern took to the field ahead of their rivals Dortmund, and Kanes pair of goals allowed the top team to dominate proceedings and establish a 3-0 advantage before errors permitted Frankfurt to net twice towards the end.
Dortmund required a victory over Leipzig to maintain any challenge on Bayern, who are scheduled to travel to the Westfalenstadion in the coming week, yet they trailed 2-0 at the interval following a brace from Christoph Baumgartner for Leipzig.
Dortmund prompted Romulo to score an own goal, reducing the deficit, and ex Wolves forward Fabio Silva found the net in the fifth minute of added time to secure a share of the spoils.
Even with the last gasp point, the outcome hampers Dortmunds faint chances of lifting the trophy before Bayerns arrival next Saturday.
At Munich, Aleksandar Pavlovics low effort put Bayern in front, and Kane contributed strikes on both sides of the break, prior to conceding a spot kick that Germany attacker Jonathan Burkardt dispatched with 13 minutes left.
Bayern skipper Joshua Kimmich presented Frankfurts Arnaud Kalimuendo with a goal in the closing stages via a wayward pass, though the home side managed to see out the contest.
"Regarding the match, I felt content up to the 75th minute," commented Jamal Musiala, marking his initial Bundesliga start since May.
"We must draw lessons from it. Such lapses cannot occur."
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany offered an optimistic view despite the concluding slip, noting "it demonstrates resilience to complete the fixture like that".
Kane has now recorded multiple goals in a game on 13 occasions this term across all tournaments.
The England skipper has tallied 28 strikes in 23 Bundesliga outings and 43 overall in this season.
The most regrettable aspect for Bayern involved a second half knock to full back Alphonso Davies, who had just resumed following an eight month layoff due to an ACL issue in January.
The Canada leader grabbed at his ankle and draped his shirt across his head, with Kompany indicating Davies faces "two to four weeks" sidelined.
Dortmund entered having suffered defeats in their previous five encounters in Leipzig and found themselves under pressure soon after kick off as Yan Diomande sliced past some sluggish defenders and located Baumgartner, who finished from close range.
The Austrian playmaker claimed another in comparable style just prior to the interval, this time supplied by Leipzig captain David Raum from the flank.
Dortmund narrowed Leipzigs cushion five minutes into the second period when a dipping Julian Ryerson set piece deflected to home forward Romulo, who attempted to evade it but directed into his own goal.
Karim Adeyemi surged forward on the break and assisted Silva to equalise during stoppage time. Julian Brandt spurned a chance right at the end, firing directly at Leipzig keeper Maarten Vandevoordt.
Brushing aside queries on the championship contest, Dortmund boss Niko Kovac stressed his team must stay concentrated with a vital period approaching.
"Munich arrive in a weeks time," he remarked. "We head to Bergamo (for Champions League duties) meanwhile. I am focused on immediate challenges rather than far off possibilities."
Leverkusen sunk
Bayer Leverkusens aspirations for a top four spot suffered a setback with a 1-0 loss at Union Berlin, shortly after a strong Champions League triumph at Olympiacos.
Local captain Rani Khedira dominated ex Union player Robert Andrich to seize a stray ball and blast it in during the 28th minute.
The reverse positions Leverkusen sixth, trailing fourth placed Stuttgart by three points.
In other action, third ranked Hoffenheim surrendered points for only the second instance in eight fixtures, ending 2-2 at Cologne.
Cologne opened the scoring via a stunning overhead strike from Ragnar Ache, but Hoffenheim responded before and after the restart to lead courtesy of efforts from Ozan Kabak and Andrej Kramaric.
Young winger Said El Mala restored parity for Cologne with a superb individual effort on 63 minutes, and the home team clung on to earn a key point versus the sharp guests.
Augsburg trailed on two occasions yet prevailed 3-2 at Wolfsburg, as Elvis Rexhbecaj netted in added time to propel the away side nine points above the drop off playoff position.