European football: Harry Kane scores hat-trick as Bayern put eight past Mainz

Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in Bayern Munich’s 8-1 demolition of Mainz on Saturday to set a Bundesliga record as the champions cut the gap on leaders Bayer Leverkusen to seven points.

Kane opened his account in 13th minute, tapping in from close range as Bayern looked to end a run of one win in their last four league games. They added another through Leon Goretzka after Kane’s effort bounced off the post seven minutes later.

Mainz briefly cut the deficit with Nadiem Amiri’s thundering free kick and the visitors were pushing hard for a second goal before Kane restored order in first-half stoppage time. It was a different story in the second half, once Thomas Müller completed a quick move to make it 4-1 in the 47th minute.

With the Mainz defence in complete disarray, the hosts kept pouring forward and Jamal Musiala threaded a shot past the keeper before substitute Serge Gnabry’s audacious mid-air backheel flick made it 6-1.

The England captain completed his hat-trick from close range, nodding in on the rebound at the far post and Goretzka’s header in stoppage time competed the rout. Kane becomes the first player to score at least twice in eight different games in his first Bundesliga season, and has taken his league tally for the season to 30.

Bayern are on 57 points in second place in the standings before Leverkusen’s home game against Wolfsburg on Sunday. Elsewhere, Leipzig beat bottom club Darmstadt 2-0 at home, while Mönchengladbach drew 3-3 with Cologne in a dramatic derby marred by clashes between fans before the match

In La Liga, Atlético Madrid lost 2-0 at third-bottom Cádiz on Saturday, Juanmi scoring twice to give the home side their first league win in six months.

Diego Simeone’s side were dominated by the hosts who opened the scoring with a stooping header by Juanmi in the 24th minute. The Spanish forward secured the win with a close-range strike after a defensive mistake just after the hour mark.

Atlético are fourth on 55 points, five ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who visit Las Palmas in their game in hand on Sunday. Cádiz remain 18th but are two points behind 17th-placed Celta Vigo, who travel to leaders Real Madrid on Sunday. Earlier, Valencia boosted their European hopes with a 1-0 home win over Getafe

In Serie A, Sassuolo boosted their survival chances with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Frosinone. Kristian Thorstvedt scored the only goal of the game just before the hour mark as Sassuolo closed to within a point of their opponents either side of the relegation red line. Cagliari climb to 13th after a 4-2 home win over Salernitana.

Runaway Serie A leaders Internazionale continued their march towards the title as a first-half goal by Yann Bisseck sealed a 1-0 victory over Bologna. Simone Inzaghi’s side broke the deadlock after 37 minutes through Bisseck’s diving header from Alessandro Bastoni’s precise cross.

“We maintain the gap from those who are following us. We fully deserved the lead in the first half, then Bologna proved why they are in their current position,” Inzaghi told Dazn. “We started to feel some fatigue and thoughts wandered over to the games that we have coming up.”