Soccer Football - Bundesliga - Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - October 18, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane scores their first goal REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -Forward Harry Kane scored once and helped set up another as champions Bayern Munich battled past Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga's Klassiker on Saturday to maintain their perfect start to the season with their seventh straight win.
The Bavarians, who host Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, had to survive considerable second-half pressure from the visitors before making sure of their 11th win in 11 matches across all competitions this season.
They lead the Bundesliga race with 21 points, five ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig. Dortmund, who suffered their first loss in 10 matches across all competitions, dropped to fourth on 14.
The win also handed Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer a new record for the most league wins with his 363rd Bundesliga match victory.
"The first half was almost perfect. We could've scored two or three more goals," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told a press conference.
"In the second half compliments to Borussia Dortmund. They fought and were aggressive. But you also have to stay dangerous in the difficult moments. We did that and had chances.
Kompany added that he was not interested in the league table.
"Everything starts from zero tomorrow and we again need to improve. That's my only focus. The lads are not thinking about the points either but about winning each game," he said.
Man-of-the-match Kane gave the hosts a deserved lead when he scored his 12th league goal in seven matches with a glancing header from a Kimmich corner in the 22nd minute. He has now scored 22 goals in 14 appearances for club and country so far this season.
Dortmund, who travel to FC Copenhagen on Tuesday in the Champions League, were nowhereto be seen in the first half but tried to bounce back after the break, going close through Felix Nmecha before Karim Adeyemi fired over the bar from close range in the 67th minute.
England captain Kane, who scored twice in his country's 5-0 win over Latvia on Tuesday that secured their ticket to next year's World Cup, then produced a stunning 60-metre pass for Luis Diaz who cut into the Dortmund box.
Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham wasted too much time trying to clear the ball, allowing Michael Olise to slide in and finish the move in the 79th minute.
The visitors pulled a goal back through Julian Brandt's tap-in five minutes later and piled on the pressure to injectlate drama into the game.
"The second half was the face we wanted to show. We were completely dominated by them in the first half," said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac.
(Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Toby Davis)
