Kane scores brace as Bayern Munich defeat Frankfurt to widen lead

Harry Kane achieved his third consecutive Bundesliga brace while Bayern Munich triumphed 3-2 against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, increasing their advantage to nine points over Borussia Dortmund who trail at the summit.

Borussia Dortmund, fresh from six successive Bundesliga victories, face RB Leipzig in the evenings fixture.

Aleksandar Pavlovics driven effort put Bayern ahead, with Kane contributing strikes before and after the interval, until he conceded a spot-kick that German striker Jonathan Burkardt dispatched with 13 minutes left.

Bayern skipper Joshua Kimmich erred with a misplaced pass, allowing Frankfurts Arnaud Kalimuendo to score late, yet the home side clung on.

Kane has now managed multiple goals in 13 fixtures this season across all tournaments.

The England skipper has tallied 28 goals from 23 Bundesliga outings and 43 overall this term.

Bayerns sole concern was a second-period knock to full-back Alphonso Davies.

The Canadian leader, back since his ACL trouble in December following an eight-month absence, grabbed his ankle post-challenge and covered his face with his shirt upon withdrawal.

Bayern started strongly, with Pavlovic converting on 16 minutes.

The German playmaker capitalised on a botched clearance, rifling a low drive that evaded Frankfurt custodian Kaua Santos grasp and crossed the line.

Kane made it two for Bayern shortly after, nodding in a corner from near point-blank.

The England forward struck again mid-second half, guiding the ball inside the upright with his left.

Burkardts penalty seemed like a token response until Kalimuendo exploited Kimmichs blunder to halve the deficit four minutes from time, though Bayern maintained distance in the closing moments.

Bayer Leverkusens aspirations for a top-four finish suffered from a 1-0 loss to Union Berlin, shortly after their strong Champions League success against Olympiacos.

Unions leader Rani Khedira outmuscled ex-teammate Robert Andrich to seize a stray ball and fire it in during the 28th minute.

This result positions Leverkusen sixth, trailing fourth-placed Stuttgart by three points.

Meanwhile, third-ranked Hoffenheim shared points for only the second occasion in eight games, drawing 2-2 away to Cologne.

Cologne went ahead via Ragnar Aches stunning overhead kick, but Hoffenheim responded with strikes from Ozan Kabak and Andrej Kramaric around halftime to lead.

Youngster Said El Mala equalised for Cologne with a fine individual effort on 63 minutes, enabling the hosts to secure a crucial draw versus the impressive opponents.

Augsburg recovered from two deficits to claim a 3-2 win at Wolfsburg, Elvis Rexhbecaj netting in added time to push the away team nine points above the playoff zone.