Diaz Hat-Trick Fires Bayern Top in Leipzig Rout

Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick and Harry Kane marked his 100th Bundesliga appearance with a goal as Bayern Munich demolished RB Leipzig 6-1 to move top of the table.

Aleksandar Pavlovic and Michael Olise also found the net as Vincent Kompany’s side delivered an emphatic response to successive draws against Augsburg in the league and Viking in the Champions League.

Those results had prompted concerns about Bayern’s defensive resilience, while four dropped points in their opening five Bundesliga matches matched their total from the first 17 games of last season.

However, the defending champions were commanding throughout against Leipzig, building a three-goal lead before the break and maintaining their attacking intensity in the second half.

Diaz opened the scoring after 12 minutes, racing onto Joshua Kimmich’s lofted pass and finishing beyond Maarten Vandevoordt.

The Colombian then created Bayern’s second, setting up Pavlovic to drive a powerful effort inside the near post.

Olise added a third before half-time, exchanging passes with Kane before firing into the bottom corner.

The England striker’s movement into a deeper position helped open up the Leipzig defence.

Any hopes the visitors had of regrouping disappeared just 95 seconds after the restart, when Diaz curled his second goal into the far bottom corner.

Kane then celebrated his landmark appearance by tapping home Nathaniel Brown’s cut-back, taking his remarkable Bundesliga tally to 102 goals in 100 matches.

With 20 minutes remaining, Diaz completed his treble in spectacular fashion, unleashing a fierce right-footed strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Andrija Maksimovic grabbed a stoppage-time consolation for Leipzig with an excellent finish into the top corner, but it did little to soften a crushing defeat.

Bayern had registered 17 shots on target before Leipzig managed their first in the 78th minute. Only Vandevoordt’s 11 saves prevented an even heavier loss.

Borussia Dortmund’s earlier goalless draw with Union Berlin allowed Bayern to finish Saturday at the summit on 14 points.

Freiburg can move two points clear with victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Bayern next host Arsenal at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League on Wednesday, 21 October, with kick-off at 20:00 BST.

Leipzig remain seventh after an inconsistent opening to the campaign, with three home victories offset by three defeats on the road.