Bayern Munich won on Wolfsburg (2-1), with a new goal from Harry Kane, while Bayer Leverkusen took advantage of a hat-trick from Patrik Schick to beat Bochum (4-0) and keep his chair as leader of the Bundesliga.
On the evening of the 16th day of the German championship, Xabi Alonso’s men have 42 points out of 48 possible, with four points ahead of Bayern Munich (38), who must however play a late match on January 24 against the Berlin Union. After the winter break of just over three weeks, Leverkusen will be able to secure the honorary title of autumn champion, awarded to the team in the lead after the first leg, in the event of success in Augsburg on January 13.
The best first leg of the Bundesliga was achieved by Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich during the 2013/14 season, with 47 points out of a possible 51.
For the last match of 2023, Harry Kane scored his 21st goal of the season in the Bundesliga in the 43rd minute, with a superb strike from 20 meters which landed in the top corner and out of reach of the goalkeeper from Wolfsburg, Koen Casteels. Kane continues to better the passing times of Robert Lewandowski in the 2020/21 season, who scored 20 goals in the first fifteen league matches, to finish with the Bundesliga record of 41 goals.
The captain of the English selection doubled the lead for the Munich team ten minutes after Jamal Musiala’s header opened the scoring (33rd).
Dominant in the first half, the Munich team revived Wolsfburg with Maximilian Arnold reducing the score in added time and were put under pressure in the second half. For the last half hour, Thomas Tuchel strengthened his defense with the entry of Matthijs de Ligt in place of Thomas Müller. They trembled until the end with a shot from Arnold in added time, saved by Manuel Neuer.
In Leverkusen, Czech center forward Patrik Schick confirmed his return, he who hardly played between the end of October 2022 and the beginning of December 2023, due to adductor problems.
In the space of a quarter of an hour between the 30th and 45th minutes, he scored an impressive hat-trick. This came to validate the choices of , Edmond Tapsoba, Amine Adli and Nathan Tella).
Boniface concluded Leverkusen’s offensive show in the 69th minute, for his 12th goal in the Bundesliga. Behind the duo at the top of the Bundesliga, Stuttgart reacted well three days after their setback in Munich, with a victory on their lawn against Augsburg (3-0), and returned to third place in the championship with 34 points, one point ahead of Leipzig , held in check in Bremen on Tuesday (1-1). In the scorer rankings, Serhou Guirassy is still inserted between Kane and Boniface. On Wednesday, he participated in Stuttgart’s new offensive demonstration with his 17th goal of the season in the Bundesliga.
The big loser of the day is Borussia Dortmund, who are stagnating at 27 points and who see the gap on the lead become abysmal, with 15 points behind Leverkusen. Fourth place, the last qualifier for the next Champions League, is also moving dangerously away, six points behind Leipzig.
