DORTMUND: Harry Kane marked his first appearance in Der Klassiker with a stunning hat-trick as his Bayern Munich side thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 away on Saturday with the deadly striker taking his Bundesliga tally to 15 goals in 10 games.

The England captain slotted home from close range in the ninth minute after Dayot Upamecano had headed Bayern in front five minutes earlier, both goals created by Leroy Sane.

Stunned Dortmund improved after the break but Bayern’s record signing Kane grabbed his second goal in the 72nd minute, again from close range, to put the game out of reach.

Kane then added the icing on the cake by completing his third hat-trick of the season and second in succession in the league in stoppage time after racing clear and finishing coolly.

He is the first player to score 15 goals in his first 10 Bundesliga appearances and now tops this season’s scoring charts, one ahead of VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy.

Victory left champions Bayern on 26 points, two points behind leaders Bayern Leverkusen who had earlier beaten Hoffenheim 3-2 away, helped by a brace from Alex Grimaldo.

Dortmund’s first league defeat of the season ended a run of 25 home matches unbeaten and left them fourth on 21 points.

Union Berlin’s woes continued, losing 3-0 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt thanks to a first-half double from Omar Marmoush and a late strike from Nacho Ferri.

The loss, Union’s 12th in a row in all competitions, means the side has now tasted defeat eight times so far this season — equal to their final total at the end of the last campaign.

Elsewhere, Mainz 05 won their first match of the season, shocking RB Leipzig 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Lee Jae-sung and Leandro Barriero, just days after sacking manager Bo Svensson.

Freiburg fought back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Italy midfielder Vincenzo scoring a penalty in the sixth minute of injury time to level the scores.

Cologne were held 1-1 at home to Augsburg, meaning Steffen Baumgart’s side will finish the match in last place.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023