Harry Kane scores his 24th Bundesliga goal as Bayern Munich rallies to beat Gladbach 3-1

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MUNICH (AP) — Harry Kane scored one of the easier goals of his career as Bayern Munich rallied from a goal down to beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayern stays two points behind league leader Bayer Leverkusen, which beat Darmstadt 2-0. Bayern and Leverkusen play next week in a game which could play a crucial role in the title race.

Kane scored his 24th Bundesliga goal of the season to give Bayern the lead in the 70th minute. Thomas Müller challenged goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas for a high ball and it went loose, leaving Kane with plenty of space and time to nod it into the net.

Bremen players celebrate after Marvin Ducksch, 2nd from left, of Bremen scored during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Mainz and Werder Bremen, at the Mewa Arena in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

Bremen players celebrate after Marvin Ducksch, 2nd from left, of Bremen scored during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Mainz and Werder Bremen, at the Mewa Arena in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

Leroy Sané twice missed good chances for Bayern early on but Gladbach took full advantage when Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer played a poor pass, launching a quick attack which ended with Nico Elvedi scoring.

Nineteen-year-old Bayern midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic leveled the score just before halftime off a one-two with Müller. Pavlovic has started back-to-back Bundesliga games in place of the injured Joshua Kimmich and scored in both.

After Kane’s goal, Matthijs de Ligt made sure of the win with a header in the 86th.

Nathan Tella scored both of Leverkusen’s goals against Darmstadt, the first with a header off Alejandro Grimaldo’s cross and the second off Florian Wirtz’s pass. Striker Borja Iglesias started his first game since signing on loan from Real Betis but had little impact.

Third-place Stuttgart scored twice in the opening seven minutes on its way to a 3-1 win over 10-man Freiburg. With Stuttgart’s top scorer Serhou Guirassy yet to return from the Africa Cup of Nations, on-loan Brighton forward Deniz Undav scored the opening goal to follow his hat trick last week against Leipzig.

New arrival Mahmoud Dahoud, also on loan from Brighton, came on for Stuttgart off the bench in the 76th.

Werder Bremen held on for a 1-0 win against Mainz after Marvin Ducksch’s second-minute goal, which came after a Mainz defender blasted a clearance into his own teammate.

Moritz Broschinski scored with a spectacular overhead kick but it wasn’t enough for Bochum to take all three points in a 1-1 draw with Augsburg, which leveled with a stoppage-time penalty.

Cologne hosts Eintracht Frankfurt later Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer