Harry Kane of Bayern Munich scored a goal from close range halfway through the first half of their 1-0 victory over FC Cologne on Friday, extending his incredible record scoring run in the Bundesliga and moving his team up to the top of the standings provisionally.
The England captain, who cost €100 million ($109.07 million) to join Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur this season, became the most expensive transfer in the Bundesliga. In the first 12 games, he has already scored a league-high 18 goals.
In addition, he broke the previous record of 17 goals set by Jadon Sancho and Kevin Keegan to become the first English player to score 18 goals in a single season in the Bundesliga.
With 32 points, one more than Bayer Leverkusen, who visit midtable Werder Bremen on Saturday, the undefeated Bavarians lead the league. Cologne is firmly rooted in last place after only one victory in their previous twelve games.
“It was a really good game for us today. Some people look at the result and might have expected a little more. But it was a fantastic game from everyone,” Kane said. “We could have scored three goals in the first half alone.
“The result was the most important thing. They [Cologne] played a few long balls in the second half, but we defended those too. It never looked dangerous, which is a good sign.”
The German champions dominated the first half of the match and had six excellent opportunities to score early, one of which was a Leroy Sané one-on-one with goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe.
In the seventh minute, amid Bayern pressure, Cologne came dangerously close to winning it when defender Timo Hübers put the ball onto the post while attempting to clear.
It was just a matter of time until the visitors opened the score, and after 20 minutes, it was Kane who scored on the rebound after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s shot was palmed into the forward’s path.
In the second half, Bayern relaxed a little bit, but they were still in command and rarely looked vulnerable.
After Sané had wasted another excellent opportunity for the visitors, Bayern winger Kingsley Coman also struck the crossbar with a header in the 79th.