15:30 Kickoffs: Bundesliga “top three” all secure wins, Augsburg sntach late draw, Mainz lose again

The record champions dominated possession in the opening minutes and it was not long before the Bavarians produced the first major chance of the match. A very nice combo between Mazraoui and Harry Kane enabled Leroy Sané to get an effort off in the 5th. The German national team attacker ripped a powerful effort from close range that rattled off the underside of the crossbar. Sané had another narrow miss five minutes later. One-way traffic in favor of the hosts continued on for the opening half hour. A technically marvelous free-kick from Kane forced an equally impressive save out of BMG keeper Moritz Nicolas in the 31st.

Suddenly – out of nowhere – chances for Gladbach began emerging. Franck Honorat and Florian Neuhaus both got looks at goal during a flurry in the 33rd. Matthijs de Ligt had to clear Neuhaus’ effort off the line. Within a couple of minutes, the foals grabbed a surprise lead. BMG defender Nicolas Elvedi took advantage of a passing error out of the back from Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer. After a crisp give-and-go with striker Jordan, Elvedi netted the 1-0 in the 35th. Bayern were rattled for a few minutes, but did notch the equalizer before the break. Sané and Müller did extremely well to set-up young midfielder Aleksandr Pavlovic in the 45th. The teenage phenom scored his second goal in as many matches.

Both teams emerged from there tunnel with plenty of energy at the restart. End-to-end action didn’t necessarily yield many highlight worthy opportunities, but the intent from the two opposing sides was certainly discernible. Musiala had perhaps the best chance to put Bayern ahead in the 48th. Kane finally gave the favored hosts their lead in the 70th. Leon Goretzka pounced on a loose ball and sent a cross into the box. Müller fought Nicolas to an aerial draw attempting to reach the ball. Kane thus had an empty net in which to head home his 24th league goal.

The foals admirably poured forward in search of an equalizer and the match didn’t truly flatten out until the 80th minute. De Ligt put the game to bed with a headed finish of a Sané cross on the 3-1 in the 86th. With the result secured, there were some more chances for the German giants. Kane regrettably missed out on a brace with a solid chance near the end The subbed-on Mathys Tel again looked very good off the bench and nearly scored the 4-1 at the start of second-half injury time.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga’s 15:30 kickoffs, league-leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen were also able to take care of business against last-placed league side SV Darmstadt 98. Nathan Tella – surprising starting above Jeremie Frimpong after an ineffective performance from the Dutchman last week – bagged a brace in the 2-0 win for Xabi Alonso’s Werkself. The Bundesliga’s other “top-three” side also kept pace with a 3-1 win over visiting SC Freiburg. Christian Stretch’s Breisgauer did manage to fight back from a 0-2 deficit (and a red card!) inside of 20 minutes, but were ultimately undone.