Kane makes history and Musiala dazzles in Darmstadt demolition
BERLIN — Harry Kane has never scored so many league goals.
The England captain claimed his 31st Bundesliga goal on Saturday to help Bayern Munich to a 5-2 win at last-place Darmstadt.
Kane headed in Joshua Kimmich’s cross before the break to set the record for goals in a debut Bundesliga season. Uwe Seeler scored 30 goals for Hamburg in the inaugural Bundesliga in 1963-64. Kane also eclipsed his previous best of 30 league goals in a season, achieved with Tottenham in the Premier League in 2018, and again last season.
But Kane’s afternoon ended in pain with an ankle injury sustained late in the game after he crashed into the post trying to reach the ball. It means his participation in England’s upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium is in doubt.
Including the Champions League, where Bayern next faces Kane’s familiar foe Arsenal, the 30-year-old forward has 37 goals in 36 appearances for Bayern this season. There are still eight rounds of the Bundesliga remaining for him to chase Robert Lewandowski’s record of 41 goals in a single season.
Jamal Musiala scored twice and also had an assist in the win, which keeps Bayern’s slim hopes of defending the Bundesliga title alive, moving it seven points behind Bayer Leverkusen, which was due to play at Freiburg on Sunday.
“We are staying in it. We worked hard to get ourselves some opportunities and we took them,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, praising “difference makers like Jamal on the pitch.”
The goalkeeper was, however, disappointed his side had conceded two goals against last-placed Darmstadt, saying: “We all need to work on it.”
Darmstadt stunned Bayern in the 28th minute when Tim Skarke took advantage of some sleepy defending by Eric Dier to score, giving the home side hope of an incredible upset against the reigning German champion.
Kane, however, dragged Bayern into the lead before halftime, assisting Musiala’s 36th-minute goal before scoring one of his own, rising high to head in a Kimmich chip in first-half stoppage time.
Musiala added another midway through the second half, when he collected a Thomas Mueller throwin and danced through the box before shooting between the goalkeeper’s legs.
As he did last week, Serge Gnabry scored just moments after coming off the bench to seal the win.
Bayern’s Mathys Tel and Darmstadt’s Oscar Vilhelmsson both scored in stoppage time.
Injury doubt
England captain Kane, however, is now a doubt for the upcoming international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium due to injury.
Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel said after the game he “hoped the incident was just a scary moment”.
“He slipped and fell into the net and twisted his ankle. He’s cooling it down with ice and we don’t have a diagnosis yet.
“When Harry goes off, it’s never a good sign, because Harry never goes off when there are still goals to score.”
Kane crashed into the post late in the game as he tried to reach the ball when it rebounded off the bar from Musiala’s effort. He appeared to be in pain and received brief treatment on the field before going off.
“Proud to break a Bundesliga record, but more importantly another good win,” Kane posted on social media.
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said the club was in “close contact” with England, and that Kane “will not take any risks” when the Three Lions face Brazil at Wembley Stadium on March 23, followed by Belgium at the same venue three days later.