BERLIN, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Harry Kane struck a hat-trick after coming off the bench as Bayern Munich had a convincing 5-0 victory over Stuttgart, tightening its grip on the Bundesliga top place on Saturday.
Despite rotating heavily following a midweek fixture, Bayern began with authority and was rewarded just 11 minutes into the match, with Konrad Laimer finishing deftly with a back-heel.
Stuttgart had its best chance before the interval. The hosts thought they had equalized when Nikolas Nartey headed home, only to be ruled out for offside by the VAR.
The turning point arrived just after the hour when Kane was substituted. The England captain wasted little time, collecting a loose ball from distance and rifling a powerful shot beyond goalkeeper Alexander Nubel.
As Stuttgart pressed forward, Bayern exploited the space left behind. Josip Stanisic added a third in the 78th minute with a low effort that slipped past Nubel. Substitute Lorenz Assignon handled a goal-bound Michael Olise shot on the line, earning a red card and conceding a penalty, which was converted by Kane.
Bayern remained firmly in control against the 10-man opponents. Kane completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, finishing from close range following another Olise contribution to round off a dominant display.
Bayern maintained an eight-point lead at the top of the table, while Stuttgart extend its winless league run to three matches.
"We dealt well with their intense pressing and looked the stronger side late on. The team did outstanding work early, which gave us space to punish them and score," said Kane.
Elsewhere, second-placed RB Leipzig hammered Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0. Augsburg impressed in its first match after sacking coach Sandro Wagner with a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg earned its first home victory since January by beating Union Berlin 3-1, Heidenheim edged Freiburg 2-1, and Cologne was held 1-1 by St. Pauli. Struggling Mainz lost 1-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday. ■
