Kane completes hat-trick, Bayern put four past Hoffenheim

Reigning German champions FC Bayern München visited Sinsheim in the state of Baden-Württemberg, looking to maintain their undefeated record through a fourth consecutive match. Vincent Kompany’s side, who were the only ones to take nine points from nine in their first three matches, faced Christian Ilzer’s TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, who were 2-0-1 and sixth in the current campaign going into today.

The 2024/25 season saw Bayern defeat Hoffenheim 5-0 at home and 4-0 away, in the head-to-head between the two sides; to add to this, Hoffenheim were 1-6-7 in their last fourteen matches at home, and Bayern went into this match unbeaten in twelve consecutive Bundesliga matches, with their most recent defeat having been 2-3 to an eventually relegated VfL Bochum on 8 March.

The hosts kicked off the match, looking to prove statistics wrong and surprise the nation. Despite holding just 17% possession in the first fifteen minutes, the hosts would win a dangerous free kick just outside the Bayern penalty area; Leon Avdullahu would cross it into the centre of the box, flicked in midair by Wouter Burger but bouncing out for a goal kick to Bayern.

Within the next two minutes, Hoffenheim would get an even better chance to open the scoring. Neuer followed with a rare mishap, on what was supposed to be a routine pass to Kim Min-jae along the back line; he gave the ball away to an unopposed Fisnik Asllani, who was unable to make it count. Asllani’s shot towards the bottom-right corner hit the goalpost and ultimately rolled out of play.

In the seventeenth minute, Harry Kane would get a chance on the other side, getting on the end of a ground pass from Nicolas Jackson and powering an attempt towards the top-left corner from well outside the Hoffenheim penalty area. Oliver Baumann would deflect it away for a corner, and on the ensuing set piece, Muhammed Damar would touch the ball with his shoulder. The Bayern players were convinced that the 21-year-old midfielder committed a handball, but a lengthy VAR check led to a confirmation of no penalty from head official Robert Hartmann.

The hosts would win a corner six minutes after the check finished, following a Jonathan Tah clearance; Damar would swing the cross far-post, headed off the ground and over the bar by Bernardo.

Asllani would generate another chance for Hoffenheim in the twenty-fifth minute, breaking free of Kim Min-jae and sending a pass to Avdullahu; the latter would be pushed to the ground by Konrad Laimer, but from Hartmann’s angle, he believed that Avdullahu touched the ball – thus, the ruling was a clean tackle, and no penalty.