Harry Kane scored a late goal to lead Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 against Mainz, extending their lead at the top of the table to 18 points.
Kane came on at halftime and netted his 33rd league goal of the season as Bayern made a stunning comeback.
After halftime, Bayern found themselves down 3-0, with goals from Mainz’s trio of Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel, and Sheraldo Becker.
However, following Nicolas Jackson‘s goal early in the second half, substitutes Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala brought Bayern level before Kane secured their remarkable 26th victory out of 31 league games this season.
The England captain has now scored 58 goals across all competitions for both club and country this season and is just eight goals away from matching Robert Lewandowski’s record of 41 Bundesliga goals in a single season, set in 2021-22, with three league games left to play.
Despite starting several key players, including Kane, Jonathan Tah, Musiala, and Olise, on the bench, Bayern struggled in the first half as Mainz took control with an early lead in the 15th minute.
Kaishu Sano set up Kohr, who found the top corner with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area.
Mainz’s Becker, Mwene, and Nadiem Amiri all had chances denied by Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, while a shot from outside the box by Silvan Widmer just missed target.
Despite being kept quiet for much of the half, Amiri saw another attempt saved by Urbig before Mainz doubled their lead with a neat finish from Nebel in the 29th minute.
Bayern looked to threaten briefly in the 40th minute when Alphonso Davies shot wide, but it wasn’t long before they were left reeling from a third goal.
Urbig denied Amiri again, but Mainz capitalized on a corner that Bayern failed to clear, allowing Becker to score from close range and solidify their lead.
Kane and Olise came on for Aleksandar Pavlovic and Luis Díaz at the start of the second half, leading to an improved performance from Bayern.
Jackson scored the first goal for Bayern just eight minutes into the second half, converting a cross from Konrad Laimer. Moments later, the Senegal striker had another close chance saved by Mainz’s goalkeeper Daniel Batz.
Laimer assisted Olise’s powerful strike to bring Bayern’s second goal, narrowing the margin significantly with 17 minutes remaining.
Mainz began to squirm under pressure as Bayern sought to equalize, ultimately scoring twice within three minutes to flip the match.
Musiala, who had come on for Raphaël Guerreiro, equalized in the 80th minute, placing the ball into the net from close range, and Kane found the net in the 83rd with a deft finish from six yards.
As Mainz searched for an equalizer, Lennard Maloney had a couple of attempts blocked, and Sano shot just wide, but Bayern held firm to secure all three points.