Kane scores in Bayern win over Augsburg as march towards Bundesliga title continues

Augsburg, Germany  Apr. 6: Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich came from behind to beat in-form Augsburg 3-1 on Friday and Harry Kane's second-half goal helped it extend its lead to nine points.

Augsburg came into the match unbeaten in its last 11 games and it took the lead thanks to a bit of quick thinking after half an hour. With the Bayern defense static, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw took a quick free kick and Dimitrios Giannoulis controlled the ball with his instep before hammering it into the roof of the for his first Bundesliga goal.

However, the home side was not ahead for long. Jamal Musiala made it 1-1 three minutes before halftime when he kept his feet in a crowded penalty box and fired home after good work from Leroy Sané on the left.

The game changed in the 59th minute when Cédric Zesiger was sent off for fouling Kane. A minute later, the Englishman scored with a diving header to put the visitor ahead. It was his 23rd goal of the league season.

An own goal from Chrislain Matsima made it 3-1 in stoppage time.

The only bad news for Bayern was a second-half injury to Musiala. The forward limped from the field with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Bayer Leverkusen can cut Bayern's lead back to six when it plays away at third-from-bottom Heidenheim on Saturday.

Augsburg was eighth in the standings. Similarly in Spanish La Liga,  Two goals in the first 15 minutes set relegation-threatened Espanyol on its way to a vital 4-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Friday.

The result — only its second away win all season — extended a run in which Espanyol has lost only once in six league matches and lifts it one place into 15th and five points clear of the relegation zone.

Leandro Cabrera put the Catalan club 1-0 up when he headed home from a corner kick after 11 minutes. Four minutes later, Roberto Fernández took advantage of poor defending to double the lead. Javi Puado made it three from the penalty spot in the 72nd, and Pere Milla started and finished the move that led to a superb fourth in stoppage time.

The result was a blow for Rayo, whose good run of form had it dreaming of European football next season. The Madrid club slipped to eighth place.

Likewise in Italian Serie A, A late winner from Alessandro Zanoli gave Genoa a 1-0 win over Udinese in Serie A and extended its unbeaten home run to six games on Friday.

After an insipid first half, Zanoli scored in the 77th minute when he pounced on a rebound and shot home from an angle.

But Patrick Vieira’s men survived a late scare when Rui Modesto’s stoppage-time equalizer was ruled out after a video review.

The win means Udinese has lost three in a row and is only two points ahead of Genoa, which sits two places behind it in 12th spot.

Meanwhile in French Ligue 1,  Nantes beat Nice for the first time in seven tries on Friday, the 2-1 result dealing Ligue 1’s fourth-placed side a blow in its hopes for Champions League football next season.

A win would have taken favored host Nice into the top three. Nantes had won just one of its last 12 away games in the league.

But Nantes took a surprise lead after 10 minutes through Douglas Augusto. Goalkeeper Marcin Bulka got a hand to his side-footed shot from 25 meters out but could not keep it out.

Nice drew level just three minutes later when Ali Abdi slipped the ball under the advancing keeper but much of the credit went to Tunisian midfielder Hicham Boudaoui, whose pass split the Nantes defense.

Matthis Abline put Nantes ahead again seven minutes before halftime with a low shot that somehow squeezed through the legs of three Nice players.

Nice had 80% possession in the second half and only Anthony Lopes’ world class save from substitute Badredine Bounani stopped it from drawing level.

Nice remained in fourth place and Nantes stayed 13th.(AP)