Harry Kane scores from inside his own half in Bayern Munich’s 8-0 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt

MUNICH – Hat-trick hero Harry Kane scored a goal from inside his own half as Bayern Munich thrashed promoted side Darmstadt 8-0 on Manuel Neuer’s return to Bundesliga action on Saturday.

The England captain lobbed goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen from the centre circle to score Bayern’s fifth and his second as they tore Darmstadt apart on a roller-coaster afternoon for the champions.

“This is the first time I’ve scored one like that. I’m always looking where the ’keeper is. I looked up and I could see the ’keeper was off his line,” said the 30-year-old striker.

“I’ve tried it a few times in my career, and it was nice to see this one dip under the crossbar.”

It was also a significant game for goalkeeping great Neuer.

“I’m going home a very happy man today,” said the veteran, who made his first appearance after almost a year out with a broken leg.

Yet 37-year-old Neuer’s return began in the worst possible way for Bayern.

In a game which saw three red cards before half-time for the first time in Bundesliga history, Joshua Kimmich was the first to go for an early bath.

The Bayern midfielder was sent off for bringing down Marvin Mehlem in front of goal after he lost the ball too easily.

“It was a stupid red card and I’m very annoyed,” said Kimmich, who will now miss Bayern’s clash with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Darmstadt’s hopes of a famous win were dashed just 17 minutes later, when Klaus Gjasula was given a somewhat harsh red card for tripping Bayern’s Konrad Laimer on the edge of the area.

The visitors then went down to nine men just before half-time after Matej Maglica was sent off for an almost identical challenge on Kane.

“That was a crazy first half against a tough opponent,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel.

“Overall, the first half had too many mistakes and we lacked intensity. After the break, the response was clear. We had one extra player, we played out a lot of chances, scored a lot of goals.”

“But it was an unusual game. No one expected it to end like this,” he added.

Leroy Sane had a goal ruled out for offside shortly before the break, but Bayern burst out of the blocks in the second half with seven goals in 25 minutes.

Kane finally broke the deadlock with a low header from close range, before Sane doubled the lead with a tap-in moments later.

Jamal Musiala and Sane then put the game beyond Darmstadt’s reach with two elegant long-range finishes in quick succession.

Kane delivered the cherry on the cake with his long-range screamer, before Thomas Muller and Musiala added a sixth and a seventh.

The former Tottenham Hotspur captain bagged his third two minutes from time, netting his second hat-trick in nine Bundesliga games this season.

He has 14 goals and seven assists from his first 13 games for the German champions.

“The ball will have a nice place in my hotel room – I still need to find a home!” said Kane, who left the Allianz Arena clutching the match ball.

“To score a hat-trick is always a great feeling for a striker,” he added. AFP