Harry Kane hits 500 career goals as Bayern maintains 6-point Bundesliga lead

Kane's brace helped Bayern maintain its six-point Bundesliga lead with a 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Werder Bremen.

Kane said he was only told of his achievement after the match.

“It was nice. Obviously a proud achievement to reach 500 goals. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot sacrifice, so nice to reach it. But as always, it’s about the next one,” Kane told broadcaster Dazn. “So the most important thing today is the win, the clean sheet.”

Kane's first goal was as a 17-year-old playing for Leyton Orient against Sheffield Wednesday in England's third tier in January 2011.

He scored Saturday's goals in the first half. The penalty came in the 22nd minute after Lennart Karl was brought down. The second came four minutes later with a crisp shot in off the post from outside the penalty area for his 26th league goal of the season.

Kane needed 743 games to reach 500 goals, according to Transfermarkt.de. The 32-year-old forward has 78 goals in 112 games for England.

Leon Goretzka, making a rare start in his final season at Bayern, scored the team's third goal in the 70th.

“We scored at the perfect situation and killed the game off,” Kane said.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer went off at half time, reportedly as a precaution, with a minor calf problem. Jonas Urbig took his place for the second period.

Bayern’s win means the team is highly unlikely to be overtaken by Borussia Dortmund when the two rivals meet in two weeks. Bayern's goal difference is vastly superior.

Dortmund, which defeated Mainz 4-0 for its sixth consecutive league win on Friday, next visits Leipzig while Bayern hosts Eintracht Frankfurt in the 23rd round, a week before “der Klassiker” in Dortmund.

Hoffenheim eyes Champions League

Hoffenheim consolidated third place with a 3-0 win over Freiburg.

Andrej Kramarić scored a contender for goal of the day when he lobbed the ball in from around 40 meters. But a VAR check found he was offside.

Fisnik Asllani and Ozan Kabak were on target after the break for Hoffenheim before substitute Valentin Gendrey scored seconds after going on to the field in stoppage time.

Battle for fourth heats up

Ermedin Demirović scored twice and Deniz Undav got the third as Stuttgart moved into fourth spot, the last place for Champions League qualification, with a 3-1 win over Cologne.

Bayer Leverkusen had earlier put the pressure on Stuttgart with a 4-0 win over lowly St. Pauli.

Just three points separate Stuttgart (42), Leverkusen (39) and Leipzig (39) before Leipzig hosts Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Also Saturday, Hamburger SV held on for a 3-2 win over Union Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt enjoyed a 3-0 victory over visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach.

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