HARRY KANE SCORED twice and Joshua Kimmich bagged a late winner as Bayern Munich came back to triumph 3-2 at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and move 11 points clear in the Bundesliga.
Bayern trailed at half-time after Nico Schlotterbeck headed Dortmund in front, before Kane scored from close range and then converted a penalty.
Dortmund levelled through Daniel Svensson but Kimmich was in the right place to blast in with three minutes remaining to leave Bayern cruising towards a 35th German title.
“We’ve got an 11-point lead. We’ve scored 88 goals. Why stop now? We’re going full throttle,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said of his side’s final stretch of the season.
The result all but sews up another Bundesliga crown for the Bavarian giants with 10 games remaining, while continuing Dortmund’s rough week, just days after their Champions League exit at Atalanta.
“It was an all-in game for us. You can’t accuse us of not giving our all,” Schlotterbeck said. “It just didn’t go our way.”
Dortmund captain Emre Can was subbed off before half-time and coach Niko Kovac said “it looks like” a serious knee injury.
Dortmund have now lost just twice in 24 league matches this season, both times to Bayern.
Kane’s fourth successive Bundesliga brace took him to 30 goals from 24 games this season.
Bayern had played two fewer matches in the past 11 days but Dortmund looked the fresher early on as they chased a victory to move them five points behind the leaders.
Elsewhere in Germany, Jarell Quansah scored with two minutes remaining to snatch Bayer Leverkusen a 1-1 home draw with lowly Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Leverkusen trailed after an excellent Sheraldo Becker goal, but Quansah squeezed the ball in at the near post late on.
The point moved Leverkusen, who have a game in hand to be played at Hamburg on Wednesday, three behind fourth-placed Stuttgart.
Leverkusen looked leggy after a hard-fought scoreless Champions League draw with Olympiacos midweek, which sent them through to the last 16, where they will face Arsenal.
Moments before half-time, Leverkusen right-back Arthur was stretchered off with a serious knee injury.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim’s recent struggles continued with a 1-0 home loss to St Pauli on Saturday, with Mathias Pereira Lage’s goal just before half-time the difference.
Hoffenheim came close to a first-ever relegation last season. They seemed to have turned things around this campaign, climbing to third spot, but have picked up just four points in their past four games.
Pauli have won three of their past four to climb out of the relegation spots.
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Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Kevin Diks converted a penalty four minutes into stoppage time to take his side to a crucial 1-0 win over Union Berlin.
Gladbach’s first win since early January took them three points clear of the relegation playoff spot.
Fellow battlers Werder Bremen also picked up a crucial victory, winning 2-0 at home to last-placed Heidenheim to move out of the automatic relegation placings.
Double winners in 2004, Bremen had picked up just four points in 13 games since their last win in early November, but won thanks to a Jovan Milosevic strike and a late Heidenheim own goal.
Lamine Yamal of Barcelona celebrates. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Elsewhere, Barcelona’s teenage star Lamine Yamal scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday that took the Catalan giants four points clear at the top of La Liga.
The Spain international struck twice in the first half and, after Pape Gueye pulled one back for the visitors at Camp Nou, stroked in a third for Hansi Flick’s side.
Robert Lewandowski rounded off Barca’s triumph with a late tap-in as they extended their lead on Real Madrid, who host Getafe on Monday, and third-place Villarreal, who now trail the champions by 13 points.
Yamal, who seems to have fully recovered from a groin issue which bothered him for several weeks earlier in the campaign as he struggled to hit top form, was at his effervescent best.
“It was a mix of everything. I wasn’t feeling good about myself, plus the (groin issue) as well, I wasn’t playing happy, and I think it showed,” Yamal told Movistar.
“For about a week or so now, I’ve been feeling much better. It was that desire to smile while I was playing that I hadn’t felt for a long time, and now I’m happy. I’m happy playing and really content.”
The winger became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in La Liga in the 21st century at 18 years and 230 days old.
Yamal has now equalled his tally of 18 goals last season across all competitions, becoming the team’s top goalscorer and raising the one area of his game which called for improvement.
“I think that (I’ve improved over time), what happens is that people want me at 16 years old to score 100 goals, and I’d like that too, but it’s very hard,” continued Yamal, with the match ball tucked under his arm.
“So (I’m improving) bit by bit, but I’m very happy, when it’s a goal, or two goals, to help the team.”
Barcelona might have taken the lead through Jules Kounde early on, but the French defender screwed a shot across the face of the goal when well placed.
Yamal tested Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior from distance, offering a brief glimpse of what was soon to follow.
Barca took the lead when Fermin Lopez won the ball high up the pitch and fed Yamal, who curled home after 28 minutes.
Yamal’s second followed nine minutes later, a stunning individual goal after he drove in from the right.
The teenager left Sergi Cardona and Alberto Moleiro for dead and then whipped a strike into the far top corner.
Luiz Junior saved Raphinha’s free-kick as Barca sought a third before the interval. Kounde flicked home but was offside, and Yamal might have completed his hat-trick but fired over.
The Yamal show
Dani Olmo wasted a good chance early in the second half and soon paid the price as Villarreal pulled one back.
Gueye turned home from close range after a scramble in the box as Barca failed to clear a corner.
The Yellow Submarine nearly had a second when Joan Garcia came flying out of his goal to try and beat Ayoze Perez to a ball in behind Barca’s defence.
The goalkeeper did not win it cleanly and, after Perez recovered possession, the Canary Islander fired just wide with Garcia stranded in no man’s land.
Yamal bent another shot agonisingly wide from the edge of the box as he chased his first-ever treble, which eventually came after substitute Pedri played him in with an inch-perfect pass.
The teenager beat Luiz Junior with a clinical finish and was given an ovation when Flick brought him off shortly afterwards.
Lewandowski netted Barca’s fourth after good work from Pedri and Kounde, who had one of his best games of the season.
Scoring four goals — at least — is what Barca need to do on Wednesday, as they host Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, aiming to overcome a 4-0 deficit.
Inter bounce back
Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march towards the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favourites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
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Kane bags brace as Bayern end Dortmund's title hopes; Yamal scores first hat-trick
LAST UPDATE | 28 Feb
Bundesliga results on Saturday:
La Liga results on Saturday:
Serie A results on Saturday:
HARRY KANE SCORED twice and Joshua Kimmich bagged a late winner as Bayern Munich came back to triumph 3-2 at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and move 11 points clear in the Bundesliga.
Bayern trailed at half-time after Nico Schlotterbeck headed Dortmund in front, before Kane scored from close range and then converted a penalty.
Dortmund levelled through Daniel Svensson but Kimmich was in the right place to blast in with three minutes remaining to leave Bayern cruising towards a 35th German title.
“We’ve got an 11-point lead. We’ve scored 88 goals. Why stop now? We’re going full throttle,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said of his side’s final stretch of the season.
The result all but sews up another Bundesliga crown for the Bavarian giants with 10 games remaining, while continuing Dortmund’s rough week, just days after their Champions League exit at Atalanta.
“It was an all-in game for us. You can’t accuse us of not giving our all,” Schlotterbeck said. “It just didn’t go our way.”
Dortmund captain Emre Can was subbed off before half-time and coach Niko Kovac said “it looks like” a serious knee injury.
Dortmund have now lost just twice in 24 league matches this season, both times to Bayern.
Kane’s fourth successive Bundesliga brace took him to 30 goals from 24 games this season.
Bayern had played two fewer matches in the past 11 days but Dortmund looked the fresher early on as they chased a victory to move them five points behind the leaders.
Elsewhere in Germany, Jarell Quansah scored with two minutes remaining to snatch Bayer Leverkusen a 1-1 home draw with lowly Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Leverkusen trailed after an excellent Sheraldo Becker goal, but Quansah squeezed the ball in at the near post late on.
The point moved Leverkusen, who have a game in hand to be played at Hamburg on Wednesday, three behind fourth-placed Stuttgart.
Leverkusen looked leggy after a hard-fought scoreless Champions League draw with Olympiacos midweek, which sent them through to the last 16, where they will face Arsenal.
Moments before half-time, Leverkusen right-back Arthur was stretchered off with a serious knee injury.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim’s recent struggles continued with a 1-0 home loss to St Pauli on Saturday, with Mathias Pereira Lage’s goal just before half-time the difference.
Hoffenheim came close to a first-ever relegation last season. They seemed to have turned things around this campaign, climbing to third spot, but have picked up just four points in their past four games.
Pauli have won three of their past four to climb out of the relegation spots.
Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Kevin Diks converted a penalty four minutes into stoppage time to take his side to a crucial 1-0 win over Union Berlin.
Gladbach’s first win since early January took them three points clear of the relegation playoff spot.
Fellow battlers Werder Bremen also picked up a crucial victory, winning 2-0 at home to last-placed Heidenheim to move out of the automatic relegation placings.
Double winners in 2004, Bremen had picked up just four points in 13 games since their last win in early November, but won thanks to a Jovan Milosevic strike and a late Heidenheim own goal.
Elsewhere, Barcelona’s teenage star Lamine Yamal scored the first hat-trick of his career in a 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday that took the Catalan giants four points clear at the top of La Liga.
The Spain international struck twice in the first half and, after Pape Gueye pulled one back for the visitors at Camp Nou, stroked in a third for Hansi Flick’s side.
Robert Lewandowski rounded off Barca’s triumph with a late tap-in as they extended their lead on Real Madrid, who host Getafe on Monday, and third-place Villarreal, who now trail the champions by 13 points.
Yamal, who seems to have fully recovered from a groin issue which bothered him for several weeks earlier in the campaign as he struggled to hit top form, was at his effervescent best.
“It was a mix of everything. I wasn’t feeling good about myself, plus the (groin issue) as well, I wasn’t playing happy, and I think it showed,” Yamal told Movistar.
“For about a week or so now, I’ve been feeling much better. It was that desire to smile while I was playing that I hadn’t felt for a long time, and now I’m happy. I’m happy playing and really content.”
The winger became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in La Liga in the 21st century at 18 years and 230 days old.
Yamal has now equalled his tally of 18 goals last season across all competitions, becoming the team’s top goalscorer and raising the one area of his game which called for improvement.
“I think that (I’ve improved over time), what happens is that people want me at 16 years old to score 100 goals, and I’d like that too, but it’s very hard,” continued Yamal, with the match ball tucked under his arm.
“So (I’m improving) bit by bit, but I’m very happy, when it’s a goal, or two goals, to help the team.”
Barcelona might have taken the lead through Jules Kounde early on, but the French defender screwed a shot across the face of the goal when well placed.
Yamal tested Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior from distance, offering a brief glimpse of what was soon to follow.
Barca took the lead when Fermin Lopez won the ball high up the pitch and fed Yamal, who curled home after 28 minutes.
Yamal’s second followed nine minutes later, a stunning individual goal after he drove in from the right.
The teenager left Sergi Cardona and Alberto Moleiro for dead and then whipped a strike into the far top corner.
Luiz Junior saved Raphinha’s free-kick as Barca sought a third before the interval. Kounde flicked home but was offside, and Yamal might have completed his hat-trick but fired over.
The Yamal show
Dani Olmo wasted a good chance early in the second half and soon paid the price as Villarreal pulled one back.
Gueye turned home from close range after a scramble in the box as Barca failed to clear a corner.
The Yellow Submarine nearly had a second when Joan Garcia came flying out of his goal to try and beat Ayoze Perez to a ball in behind Barca’s defence.
The goalkeeper did not win it cleanly and, after Perez recovered possession, the Canary Islander fired just wide with Garcia stranded in no man’s land.
Yamal bent another shot agonisingly wide from the edge of the box as he chased his first-ever treble, which eventually came after substitute Pedri played him in with an inch-perfect pass.
The teenager beat Luiz Junior with a clinical finish and was given an ovation when Flick brought him off shortly afterwards.
Lewandowski netted Barca’s fourth after good work from Pedri and Kounde, who had one of his best games of the season.
Scoring four goals — at least — is what Barca need to do on Wednesday, as they host Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg, aiming to overcome a 4-0 deficit.
Inter bounce back
Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march towards the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favourites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
– © AFP 2026
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