Harry Kane one hat-trick from more Bayern history

Harry Kane scored three times in Bayern München's 5-1 win over 1. FC Köln, taking his Bundesliga total to 36 and his all-competitions haul to 58. It was his fourth Bundesliga hat-trick of the season, with Joshua Kimmich assisting two of the goals. Kane said earlier in the campaign that he was "playing the best football of my career", and the numbers are hard to argue with.

Why this season looks so dominant

The basic case is simple enough. Kane's 36 Bundesliga goals are 17 clear of Deniz Undav's 19, and his 58 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions show the same level of output has held up everywhere Bayern München have needed it. The club's league total, 117 goals in 33 matches, tells you how heavily this side leaned into attack.

There is a deeper marker in the cup numbers too. Kane has 7 DFB Pokal goals in 5 appearances, which is exactly the kind of knockout return that makes him central to Bayern München's run into the final. He also said Bayern had talked at the start of the season about making the cup a priority, and that it was "too long" since the club won it.

The Stuttgart final still asks a real question

The final against VfB Stuttgart is not a formality. Kane has 11 goals in seven meetings with Stuttgart since joining Bayern, while Undav is yet to score against Bayern in six career meetings. Stuttgart finished fourth in the Bundesliga, so this is a proper opponent, not a decorative final.

Kane's own view is still the strongest clue about where his season sits. He has said the Bundesliga scoring record is "certainly not impossible" if he stays fit and keeps playing, and that is about as direct as he gets. England have also arrived in his thinking, with Kane calling them one of the favourites for the World Cup and saying he feels like a much more complete footballer now.

The next test is Berlin, against VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup final. Kane has already done the heavy lifting for Bayern München this season, and the final now gives him one more game to make the case that this is the peak of his Bayern spell.