Kane scores and inspires Bayern to 2-1 win over Dortmund in Bundesliga's Klassiker

Harry Kane scored again as Bayern Munich dealt Borussia Dortmund its first Bundesliga loss of the season by winning der Klassiker 2-1 on Saturday.

Bayern, the defending champion, dominated and delivered a statement to its closest rival after six rounds.

“It was first versus second. So yeah, there’s a lot on this game, especially for momentum,” Kane said. “We talk a lot about trying to keep our momentum and keep pushing and keep trying to win every game that’s possible, and we’re doing that so far.”

The England forward launched the first good chance, while defending. He eluded two Dortmund forwards, and sent the ball forward. Michael Olise drew a save from Gregor Kobel, who then secured Luis Díaz’s effort from the rebound.

Kane scored in the 22nd minute with a header to Joshua Kimmich’s corner. It was his 22nd goal for club and country this season and stretched his scoring streak in the Bundesliga to five games that have yielded nine goals.

Olise grazed the left post with another shot. The only complaint Bayern could have at the break was that it was leading only 1-0.

“Probably just weren’t clinical enough in the final third," Kane said.

Dortmund improved significantly after the interval when Felix Nmecha went close, Serhou Guirassy fired over, and Karim Adeyemi failed to capitalize on a rare Kimmich mistake.

It mattered little, as Olise sealed the win by sliding in to cut out substitute Jobe Bellingham’s attempted goal-line clearance in the 79th. That move started with a brilliant cross-field ball from Kane for Díaz, whose cross Bellingham needed to clear.

Substitute Julian Brandt scored seconds after his introduction but Kane defended as Bayern held on for its 11th consecutive win across all competitions.

”We did well in the second half to kind of hang in in certain moments. We got the second goal. Disappointing to concede so quickly after, but ultimately it was about digging deep," Kane said.

Bayern, the only undefeated team left, opened a five-point lead over Leipzig, while Dortmund dropped to fourth behind Stuttgart.

Álex Grimaldo scored twice and was booked for complaining as Bayer Leverkusen almost squandered a two-goal lead before beating Mainz 4-3.

Grimaldo converted a penalty and Christian Kofane got another goal before Lee Jae-sung pulled one back for Mainz. Grimaldo scored again before the break but was booked in the 69th when he clearly didn’t agree with referee Florian Exner’s decision to award Mainz a penalty when Phillipp Mwene fell under minimal contact from Arthur.

The decision survived a VAR review despite little evidence of a foul, and Nadiem Amiri scored against his former side from the spot.

Martin Terrier thought he sealed Leverkusen’s win late, then Amiri sent Armindo Sieb through to score in the 90th to ensure a nervy finish for the visitors.

It was Leverkusen's third straight win under new coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was back at his former team. Hjulmand had an unhappy spell in charge of Mainz in 2014-15.

Leipzig held on beat promoted Hamburger SV 2-1 after the home fans honored Hamburg’s Danish forward Yussuf Poulsen with a huge tifo in tribute to his 12 years at the club in his first game back. Leipzig was still in the third division when Poulsen joined from Lyngby in 2013.

Heidenheim drew with Werder Bremen 2-2, Augsburg drew in Cologne 1-1, and Christian Eriksen made his first start for Wolfsburg in a 3-0 loss at home to Stuttgart. It was Wolfsburg's fourth straight Bundesliga defeat and a sixth league game in a row without a win.

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Bayern's Michael Olise, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

Bayern's Michael Olise during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

Bayern's Harry Kane, left, and Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck, centre, in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

Bayern's Harry Kane, centre, during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

Bayern's Michael Olise, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lennart Preiss)

Köln's Said El Mala scores his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Köln and Augsburg in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Marius Becker/dpa via AP)

Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner, right, scores the opening goal past Hamburger's goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Hamburger SV in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)

Mainz's Nadiem Amiri reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Leverkusen's head coach Kasper Hjulmand, center, celebrates with players after Leverkusen's Martim Terrier scoring fourth goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo, left, celebrates with Leverkusen's Jonas Hofmann after scoring his side's third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

BERLIN (AP) — European soccer federations told UEFA they are not happy with the new extended four-game blocks of international matches that finished this week.

Injured players like Kylian Mbappé missed too many games, Erling Haaland asked to come off in Norway’s fourth match, resources were stretched for coaches in smaller countries and extra demands were made on the time and money of fans and sponsors.

A “disaster,” said one official among multiple federations who spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of a closed-doors UEFA meeting Thursday in Berlin. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential debate.

UEFA said it will gather their views to weigh a submission to FIFA about the 16-day block that combined what used to be separate two-game breaks in September and October.

Still, the four-game early-season block is locked in for four more years on the FIFA-managed calendar for international matches that is finalized through 2030. That year national teams in Europe will play four games between Sept. 23 to Oct. 8. Next year they will be qualifying games for the 2028 European Championship.

Fewer but longer breaks for international games have long been wanted by European clubs seeking to limit disruption to their seasons, and cut long-haul travel for their players from outside the continent.

Still, the past three weeks have not been popular with one Champions League club, whose coach led his national team Croatia for two years including at the 2014 World Cup.

“We now have the issue of not only having the occasional player coming back injured, but also the fact you go two or 2½ weeks without any momentum,” Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said this week. “We’re all starting from scratch now, in a sense.”

Outside of Europe, FIFA has said the longer break allowed time for regional tournaments like the eight-team Arabian Gulf Cup played Sept. 23-Oct. 6 in Saudi Arabia.

FIFA pushed to condense international breaks in 2021 as part of its biennial World Cup proposal, and later updated its calendar for men’s soccer.

The calendar mandates when clubs must release players for international duty, including the World Cup, where FIFA pays hundreds of millions of dollars to clubs worldwide whose players represented their national teams.

After the UEFA meeting Thursday, officials said only Azerbaijan among the 55 member federations spoke out in clear defense of FIFA’s management of the calendar.

The four-game break followed two months after the longest-ever World Cup, the first with 48 teams and where Norway played into July after reaching the quarterfinals.

“For those who play in the Champions League and have had little vacation, it’s more brutal than for the others,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said of the schedule and after substituting Haaland in the second half of a loss Sunday to Portugal.

Haaland faces an intense week with Manchester City, going to Liverpool on Sunday in the Premier League then hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

European national teams next call up players for camps starting Nov. 9 to play two games that complete the Nations League group phase.

AP Sports Writer Ciarán Fahey contributed to this report

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken embraces Norway's Erling Haaland as he leaves the pitch after being substituted during the Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Norway in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)

Slovenia's Erik Janza, left, and Scotland's Ben Gannon-Doak battle for the ball during the Nations League soccer match between Scotland and Slovenia in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday Oct. 6, 2026. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

France's Kylian Mbappe lieas on the ground after he scored and injured himself during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Turkey and France in Izmit, Turkey, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Norway's Erling Haaland applauds the fans when leaving the pitch after being substituted during the Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Norway in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)