Bayern Munich's Harry Kane reaches 50 Bundesliga goals in record time
Phenomenal, reliable, insatiable: the words of praise continue to flow on a weekend when Bayern Munich's Harry Kane became the fastest-ever player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals following one more hat-trick against Augsburg.
The English marksman netted all three of his latest goals in the second half of a 3-0 Bavarian derby triumph under the Friday-night lights as Bayern made it five Bundesliga wins in a row to stretch their lead at the top of the standings. Kane's half century - reached in 43 top-flight matches - saw him arrive at the milestone with several games to spare over former Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland, who previously took 50 games to rack up his first 50 Bundesliga goals.
"I think I'm probably in the best form of my career since I've been at Bayern," the 31-year-old enthused after his heroics against Jess Thorup's stubborn visitors.
Watch: Kane treble as Bayern down Augsburg
It took a 63rd minute penalty to break Augsburg's resistance at the Allianz Arena. Kane successfully converted, and did so again from the spot in injury-time, before completing his treble with a memorable control and finish at the death to send the local fans home cold but happy.
"That's what makes it so difficult against Harry Kane: you can defend well against him the whole game, but then eventually the space opens up and he strikes," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said afterwards.
As well as scoring an eye-popping 64 goals in 62 competitive appearances for the Bavarian giants, Kane netted his 16th penalty in a row for Bayern, and his 25th on the bounce in total.
Watch: Kane's kids delighted with one more match ball
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With 14 Bundesliga goals this season, he is already seven ahead of nearest challenger Omar Marmoush of Eintracht Frankfurt. In all, Kane has scored 20 goals in all competitions for the record champions this term.
Not one to spend too long dwelling on achievements, Kane said after the Augsburg win, "There are important weeks ahead for us but the team is ready. We’re feeling good and we’ve got to keep this momentum going." Bayern and Kane will now look to take that momentum into Tuesday's UEFA Champions League encounter against Paris Saint-Germain.
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