BERLIN (AP) — Leroy Sané scored twice and Harry Kane added to his Bundesliga-best tally as Bayern Munich restored its six-point lead by beating St. Pauli 3-2 on Saturday.
The visitor made a courageous start and went close to scoring when captain Jackson Irvine’s header was deflected onto the crossbar. Then Bayern pounced on a mistake with Michael Olise crossing for Kane’s league-leading 22nd goal in the 17th minute.
“The difference was Bayern didn't give us any gifts and we unfortunately gave (gifts),” Elias Saad said. He equalized in the 27th when Manolis Saliakas was given enough space on the right to cross for the Tunisia forward.
Sané restored Bayern’s lead in the 53rd with a low shot across goal after being sent through by Olise, then scored again to seal the win.
Lars Ritzka pulled one back for St. Pauli in stoppage time after Bayern defender Hiroki Ito was unable to play the final minutes. It’s the latest injury blow to Bayern’s defense with Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano out with knee injuries.
“It was a deserved win, just we made it unnecessarily exciting at the end with the goal we conceded,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said.
The victory ended Bayern's two-game winless streak in the Bundesliga, but coach Vincent Kompany will face questions about his team's vulnerabilities in defense — particularly with the shortages he faces there.
Bayern faces Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinals on April 8.
Frankfurt closing on CL qualification
Mario Götze, whose goal won the 2014 World Cup final, scored the winner for Eintracht Frankfurt to beat Stuttgart 1-0 and boost its Champions League qualification prospects.
The former Germany star's 70th-minute goal lifted Frankfurt to third place with a five-point cushion over Borussia Mönchengladbach as it bids to finish among the top four and qualify for Europe's top competition.
Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel got his fingertips to Hugo Larsson's shot to push it onto the post, but it fell kindly for Götze to break the deadlock.
Stuttgart's Ameen Al-Dakhil was sent off in the 57th for a foul on Hugo Ekitiké as the last defender. The French forward would have been through on goal.
Gladbach wins European qualification duel
Alassane Plea’s header after the break was enough for Gladbach to beat Leipzig 1-0 and move above the visiting team to fifth, two points behind Mainz, which visits Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
Leipzig can drop to seventh, outside the European qualification places, if Freiburg gets a point against Union Berlin on Sunday.
Also on Saturday, Heidenheim boosted its survival hopes with a 1-0 win at Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim drew with Augsburg 1-1, and Werder Bremen won at bottom side Holstein Kiel 3-0.
Defending champion Bayer Leverkusen temporarily cut Bayern’s lead to three points with a 3-1 win over Bochum on Friday. Seven rounds remain after this weekend.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press
