Berlin [Germany], May 24 : A sensational hat-trick from English superstar Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win over VFB Stuttgart in the final of the German Super Cup on Saturday night.
Kane (54th minute, 79th minute and 90+1 minute via penalty) produced one of his best performances in Bayern colours as they not only sealed their 21st cup title, but also a domestic double of the Bundesliga title, the top-flight football league and the German Cup, as per Goal.com.
The season for Vincent Kompany's manager side was a dominant one, and they secured their first German Cup in six years. Despite the absence of captain and star player Manuel Neuer due to calf issues, the German giants were too good for Stuttgart, despite their resilience. This is the 14th time Bayern Munich have completed a domestic double.
Speaking after the game, Kane said, as quoted by the club's official website, "I wanted to make the team proud; I wanted to make the fans proud. And to score a hat-trick in a final, it is just such a special game and special feeling. I am so proud of that."
The Bayern Munich sporting director, Max Eberl, also said, "Today he (Kane) decided the match - and he absolutely deserved it." For Kane, it was the perfect end to a breathtaking season: "It was a long and hard season. Ending it like this is perfect."
The team's manager, Kompany, admitted that the first half was pretty even and the team failed to do well in some one-on-one match-ups, but still had that belief that they could do it, heading into the second half.
"It is wonderful. We played against a good opponent today. The first half was pretty even. This team always manages to up their level. We defended solidly. It was almost the perfect final. Every player said at half-time that we are close and can do it. There were one-v-ones where we did not make the correct decision, but we felt we could up our level. It was a close final, and then we scored the goals we needed to win in the second half. We sometimes made really good moves into space. You have then got a good mix of action on the ball and active runs. That is tough to defend," he said.
Stuttgart, who were the defending champions, fought really well as Maximilian Mittelstadt and the lively Stuttgart attack tested Bayern's defence and their stand-in goalie Jonas Urbig, with the Bundesliga not displaying the best of the rhythms in the first half. But it was Kane's goals that one by one brought back the title to German giants and helped them rediscover their mojo in the second half.
This was Bayern's 46th win of the season, a massive number only achieved during the 2012-13 season, where the club experienced the domestic and European glory by winning the UEFA Champions League and the domestic league and cup titles.