Harry Kane's English record one of five talking points from Matchday 12
Harry Kane has already overtaken fellow Englishmen Kevin Keegan and Jadon Sancho for single-season top-flight goals in the Bundesliga, but there was plenty more to look out for in an action-packed Matchday 12…
1) Harry Kane, England's record man AGAIN
Harry Kane bagged his 18th goal of the Bundesliga campaign as Bayern Munich beat Cologne 1-0 on Friday, sending the champions provisionally top of the table, and setting yet another career record in the process.
With five assists thrown in, Kane has needed just 46 minutes per direct goal-involvement in the German top-flight, and he has already overtaken any Englishman to go before him in the Bundesliga for goals in a single season.
Watch: Highlights of Bayern's victory over Cologne
Keegan managed 17 for Hamburg in 1978/79, and it was some 41 years later that his tally was matched by Sancho for Borussia Dortmund, but Kane has now overtaken them both, and needed just 12 games to do so.
Tony Woodcock holds the all-time Bundesliga record among Englishmen with 39 goals, scored across two spells with Cologne between 1979 and 1988. At his current rate, Kane should overtake him six games before the end of his first season.
2) Leverkusen mean business
For all of Bayern's strengths, led by star man Kane, Bayer Leverkusen simply refuse to go away. Saturday's 3-0 win at Werder Bremen meant Xabi Alonso's men reclaimed top spot with their eighth win on the bounce, and remain two points clear.
Such is Die Werkself's attacking intent that wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Álex Grimaldo have now become usual suspects on the scoresheet - with 11 goals and nine assists between them, they are the deadliest defenders on the continent.
Watch: Highlights of Leverkusen's 3-0 win over Bremen
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Bayer and Bayern don't meet again until February - Leverkusen's only draw this season was the 2-2 when they met in September - but at this early stage of the season it already looks like that game could be a title six-pointer.
3) Dortmund show grit to survive Battle of the Borussias
Borussia Dortmund might have been expected to be Bayern's nearest challengers this season having lost out to the record champions on the final day of last season, but they have had a mixed start.
However, playing badly and losing is much worse than playing badly and winning, and after giving Borussia Mönchengladbach a two-goal head-start at the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday, they battled back to win 4-2, Niclas Füllkrug bagging a goal and an assist.
Watch: Dortmund's comeback win over Gladbach
"We showed 'bouncebackability' once again," said sporting director Sebastian Kehl after the game. "We don't need to do that every time! But it's also a feature of the team this season." Also top of their UEFA Champions League group, if this is Dortmund stuttering, just wait until they click into gear.
4) Eta is now! Marie-Louise the first woman on a Bundesliga bench
Marie-Louise Eta became the first female to take her place on a Bundesliga bench as Union Berlin drew 1-1 with Augsburg, the former Germany youth international acting as interim head coach Marco Grote's assistant following the departure of Urs Fischer.
She will make history again on Wednesday when she follows suit in the Champions League, having been kept on as assistant by new managerial appointment Nenad Bjelica, who is pleased to have her in the fold.
"Union's a very well-run club in one of the top leagues in Europe," said the former Kaiserslautern and Croatia midfielder. "I'm looking forward to this challenge. I want to see well-organised, active and dominant football and players who are ready to take responsibility. We'll work on this together from now on."
5) Undav catching up with Guirassy
Serhou Guirassy led the goalscoring charts for little-fancied VfB Stuttgart before injury allowed Kane to overtake him, but he made a goalscoring return from the bench against Dortmund in the final game before the international break, and still has a barely fathomable 15 from just 10 games played.
He was expected to be restored to the starting line-up against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, but Deniz Undav kept his place up front, and duly scored both goals in a 2-1 win. With seven in his first nine Bundesliga games, he draws level with the likes of Fritz Walter for the most prolific start in Stuttgart history.
"We have a world-class relationship," Undav said of his connection with Guirassy off the field. "We have fun and are happy when the other one scores a goal. We laugh and are happy, that's how it should be."
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