Harry Kane scores 500th goal as Bayern Munich cruise past Werder Bremen

Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich maintained its six-point Bundesliga lead with a 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer went off at half time, reportedly as a precaution, with a minor calf problem. Jonas Urbig took his place for the second period.

Kane had already scored his goals. The first was a penalty in the 22nd minute after Lennart Karl was brought down. The second came four minutes later with a crisp shot in off the post from outside the penalty area.

It was the England star's 26th league goal of the season. Nine of those have been penalties.

Leon Goretzka, making a rare start in his final season at Bayern, scored the third goal in the 70th.

Bayern's win means the team is highly unlikely to be overtaken by Borussia Dortmund when the two rivals meet in two weeks.

Dortmund, which defeated Mainz 4-0 for its sixth consecutive league win on Friday, next visits Leipzig while Bayern hosts Eintracht Frankfurt in the 23rd round, a week before "der Klassiker" in Dortmund.

Kane brought up his 500th career goal by notching twice.

Hoffenheim remain third in Bundesliga

Hoffenheim consolidated third place with a 3-0 win over Freiburg.

Andrej Kramarić scored a contender for goal of the day when he lobbed the ball in from around 40 meters. But a VAR check found he was offside.

Fisnik Asllani and Ozan Kabak were on target after the break for Hoffenheim before substitute Valentin Gendrey scored seconds after going on to the field in stoppage time.

Bayer Leverkusen moved into fourth spot, the last place for Champions League qualification, with a 4-0 win over lowly St. Pauli.

Stuttgart and Leipzig, like Leverkusen, also had 39 points before their 22nd round games. Stuttgart plays Cologne later Saturday while Leipzig hosts Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Hamburger SV held on for a 3-2 win over Union Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt enjoyed a 3-0 victory over visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach.