With a 4-1 victory over Cologne in yesterday’s German Cup second round, Bayern Munich set a new record for most consecutive victories by a European team in a season. Harry Kane scored twice in the match.
According to AFP, Kane has scored 22 goals in 14 games this season, including an opener, a fantastic curling drive on the spin, and a header in the second half.
Scores were also scored by wingers Michael Olise and Luis Diaz for the 20-time German Cup winners.
The opening goal, scored by Ragnar Ache of Cologne, was Bayern’s first of the season.
Bayern’s win broke the record set by Fabio Capello’s AC Milan in 1992–1993, the previous best mark in Europe’s top five leagues, for most wins in a single season across all competitions.
With the exception of two games, the record-breaking run by Bayern has been fueled by the in-form England captain Kane, who has scored six braces and two hat tricks.
Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen defeated 10-man Paderborn 4-2. Both goals came in the second half.
Ibrahim Maza, a 19-year-old, scored to save Leverkusen’s blushes from their second-division opponents, who hadn’t lost since August, ending a dismal night for the 2024 German domestic double winners.
As Cologne pushed for an equalizer, Aleix Garcia inflated the score.
Stefano Marino of Paderborn scored in the waning moments of regular time to cancel out Alejandro Grimaldo’s free-kick for Leverkusen in the 60th minute—his fourth goal from dead-ball situations this season.
Sven Michel scored an unbelievable goal for Paderborn in the 96th minute of extra time. Paderborn had been down to 10 men just before the hour due to a last-man foul that resulted in a free-kick for Grimaldo.
Just before the halftime break, though, ex-Liverpool center back Jarell Quansah leveled the score.
Joining Leverkusen as champions in 2023–24 is Stuttgart, the current holders of the trophy, who defeated Mainz 2-0 behind goals from Luca Jaquez and captain Atakan Karazor.
After six minutes, center defender Jaquez soared to head in a corner. Germany midfielder Angelo Stiller dummyed the home defense in the 73rd minute, setting up a counterattack that Karazor stormed in on.
Loris Karius, a former Liverpool goalie, had a rough night as Darmstadt, a team from the same second tier, thrashed Schalke 4-0.
RB Leipzig, Hamburg, St. Pauli, Bochum, Hertha Berlin, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Holstein Kiel, and yesterday’s other winners Freiburg, Magdeburg, and Kaiserslautern are all in the round of 16.
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