On Sunday, Harry Kane scored two goals to lead Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win against VfB Stuttgart. This narrowed the gap between them and leaders Bayer Leverkusen to four points, with Bayern having one extra game to play.
The leader of the English team has successfully made 20 goals in his 14 games this season. He is only the third player in the league’s past to achieve this feat by the halfway point or earlier.
Despite multiple injuries and last-minute absences from Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka due to illness, Bayern Munich managed to secure three points and currently have 35 points with an extra game to play.
Bayern was determined to recover from their surprising 5-1 defeat to Frankfurt last week, and they managed to score within two minutes of the game starting. Kane scored by tapping in a pass from Leroy Sané.
Throughout the match, the Bavarians were in control and had numerous opportunities to score, although Stuttgart’s goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel was constantly kept on his toes.
Kane scored their second goal in the 55th minute, taking advantage of being unguarded to score a header off a cross from young player Aleksandar Pavlovic.
After eight minutes, the visitors scored another goal when Kim Min-jae’s header was deflected and caught Nuebel off guard, sealing Bayern’s victory and ending any chance of a comeback for Stuttgart in the team’s final home game of the year.
Kane stated that it was possibly the team’s strongest showing of the season thus far. They aimed to assert their dominance and were aware of the opponent’s threat, but managed to restrict them to only a few opportunities. Scoring twice was a great contribution to the team’s success.
Previously, Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen scored a goal and assisted in two more, leading to a 3-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt who were the visiting team.
Unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, Xabi Alonso’s team took a 14th-minute lead with 22-year-old Nigeria international Boniface powering into the box and threading a low shot past two defenders and keeper Kevin Trapp for his ninth goal of the campaign.
In the 35th minute, Alejandro Grimaldo took a free kick that hit the crossbar. Then in the 51st minute, Jeremie Frimpong scored again after Trapp saved a shot from Boniface.
Six minutes after the third goal, the striker skillfully passed the ball to Florian Wirtz, who successfully chipped it over the keeper for their third goal of the match.
The Bundesliga will go on a winter break after the upcoming matches on Tuesday and Wednesday, and will resume on January 12th.
Luka Modric showcased his ongoing worth to Real Madrid by contributing a goal and an exceptional assist in their 4-1 victory against Villarreal at home in La Liga.
In the 25th minute, a 38-year-old midfielder from Croatia delivered a well-executed cross from the edge of the box. Jude Bellingham then leapt and headed the ball into the goal, just beyond the reach of goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.
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In the 37th minute, Rodrygo scored a goal from a corner taken by Modric, increasing Real’s lead. However, José Morales managed to score for the visitors in the 54th minute with a clean shot after a counterattack.
In the 64th minute, Brahim Díaz scored the third goal for the team playing at home with a great solo effort. Four minutes later, Modric also scored by hitting a loose ball in the box. With 42 points, Real is now at the top of the table, one point ahead of Girona who will play against Alaves on Monday.
Paris Saint-Germain, the top team in Ligue 1, lost the opportunity to earn two points as they tied 1-1 with Lille. This was thanks to a last-minute goal from substitute Jonathan David, who headed in an equalizer after Kylian Mbappé had given the visitors the lead with a penalty.
PSG was surprised by a sudden attack when Marco Asensio, who had come in as a substitute, made a careless pass that was intercepted. Despite Arnau Tenas making a good save with his legs on Adam Ounas’s deflected shot, David was able to follow up and head the ball into the net on the rebound.
In the 66th minute, PSG took the lead thanks to Mbappe’s penalty kick after Lille’s Bafodé Diakité fouled Lucas Hernández. This puts PSG at 37 points, five points ahead of second-place Nice.
Inter Milan extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table by four points with a 2-0 victory over Lazio, thanks to goals from forwards Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram.
In the 40th minute, Inter was given an advantage when Lazio’s Adam Marusic made a mistake while trying to pass the ball backwards. Martinez took advantage of this and successfully dribbled past the goalkeeper, Ivan Provedel, to score from a short distance.
Thuram increased the lead in the second half with a well-placed shot that found the back of the net, receiving a precise pass from Nicolo Barella into the penalty area.
Inter Milan currently holds the top spot in the standings with 41 points after playing 16 games. They have widened the margin between themselves and second-place Juventus (37), who had the opportunity to take the lead but settled for a 1-1 draw against Genoa on Friday. Lazio, on the other hand, is in 11th place with 21 points.
Source: theguardian.com
