Harry Kane may be enduring an unusual scoring drought at Bayern Munich, but the England captain is compensating by becoming the Bundesliga’s leading provider. He created both goals in a 2-1 victory at Mainz, keeping Bayern at the top of the table.
Kane has now gone four matches without scoring, a sequence previously seen only once during his Bayern career. Yet his influence remains clear: he squared the ball for Joshua Kimmich to open the scoring before laying the ball off for Lennart Karl to complete the win.
The two assists took Kane’s Bundesliga total to eight, more than any other player in the competition. Only Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal has matched that figure across Europe’s major leagues.
It marks a notable development in Kane’s game. His movement and presence continue to create space for team-mates, while his passing has added another dimension to Bayern’s attack. He had also supplied a lofted assist for Konrad Laimer in the Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid earlier in the week.
Bayern’s closest challengers, Borussia Dortmund, also won 2-1, with Felix Nmecha scoring twice against Elversberg in the absence of leading scorer Serhou Guirassy. RB Leipzig beat Augsburg 5-2, while Bayer Leverkusen won the derby at Cologne by the same scoreline as Bayern’s victory.
Barcelona recover against Atletico Madrid
Barcelona strengthened their position at the top of LaLiga with a 2-1 win away to Atletico Madrid, recovering from an early setback at the Metropolitano.
Julian Alvarez created the opening goal for Giuliano Simeone, putting Atletico on course to move into first place. Barcelona responded through two goals from Fermin Lopez, however, and held on for a significant victory.
The result leaves Barcelona five points ahead of Atletico and provides a strong response after recent defeats by Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Real Madrid moved back above their city rivals in second place after a 3-0 win at Valencia, with Kylian Mbappe scoring despite being booed by the home support.
Arda Guler was particularly influential for Real Madrid, scoring one goal and setting up Mbappe. His creativity from a wide position has brought balance to the attack, while Federico Valverde also scored from right-back.
Racing Santander continued their encouraging campaign after winning at Malaga. The newly promoted side remain in the top half despite conceding more goals than any other team, with their positive approach bringing results.
Inter cut Lazio’s lead in Serie A
Lazio’s six-match winning streak came to an end with a 1-1 draw at Napoli, allowing Inter to reduce the gap at the top of Serie A to one point.
The reigning champions defeated Como 2-0 at San Siro after scoring twice early in the match. Como enjoyed plenty of possession but could not match Inter’s efficiency in front of goal.
Roma also remained in contention after beating Sassuolo 3-0 while extending their unbeaten record. Rodrigo Mora was involved in all three goals, scoring the last himself, and Roma’s coach Gian Piero Gasperini said: “Inter are best placed to win. For the rest, all of us are in the mix, us included.”
Milan responded to their European defeat by winning 2-1 at Genoa, while Juventus drew 2-2 at Fiorentina after twice coming from behind. They remain six points outside the top four.
PSG make it 11 wins in a row
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their two-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a narrow 1-0 home victory over Troyes. The result extended their winning run in all competitions to 11 matches, following their six-goal Champions League win over Villarreal.
Lille and Paris FC both won away from home to keep pace, while Marseille climbed to fourth after beating Lens 2-1. The victory was Marseille’s fifth consecutive domestic win under Bruno Genesio.
Lens gifted Marseille the opening goal after only 90 seconds through a defensive mistake. Although they equalised, they conceded again late on, leaving them needing a response after their midweek 9-1 defeat by Como.
Monaco were held by Le Mans, while Lyon lost at Brest during a period of change between coaches. Carlos Vicens is due to replace Paulo Fonseca.
Weghorst rescues Ajax’s title hopes
The Eredivisie title race remains finely balanced after Wout Weghorst scored a 95th-minute penalty to earn Twente a 2-2 draw against Ajax.
Ajax had led twice, with Tolu Arokodare continuing his impressive form after opening the scoring. Weghorst, who left Ajax in the summer, now has nine goals in 12 matches for Twente.
Feyenoord had earlier surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 5-3 at Heerenveen, while PSV returned to the top of the table by beating Cambuur 5-2. In Portugal, Porto maintained their perfect record with an 11th consecutive victory, leaving Benfica five points behind despite Vangelis Pavlidis scoring a late winner.
