Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich racked up its 14th straight win in one of soccer's best-ever starts to a season after overcoming a rare setback to beat Cologne 4-1 in the German Cup on Wednesday.
Vincent Kompany's team has won every game it has played in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League so far in 2025-26, and the win over Cologne surpassed a historic mark of 13 wins in all competitions set by AC Milan at the start of its 1992-93 campaign.
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Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a German soccer cup second round match between SC Paderborn and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Paderborn, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane reacts during the German soccer cup match between Cologne and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern's head coach Vincent Kompany reacts during the German soccer cup match between Cologne and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the German soccer cup match between Cologne and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern did it despite falling behind in a game for the first time since July as Ragnar Ache's 31st-minute header put Cologne ahead.
Bayern turned it around with two goals in two minutes, first for Luis Diaz — who seemed clearly offside, though there's no video review until later in the competition — and then Kane, with an acrobatic turn and shot over the keeper in the 38th.
Kane extended Bayern's lead with a header at a corner, his 22nd goal for Bayern in 14 games this season, and Díaz set up Michael Olise to score Bayern's fourth on a counter soon after.
Bayer Leverkusen scored twice in the final minutes of extra time to win a thrilling game 4-2 over second-division Paderborn and book a spot in the third round.
Leverkusen avoided another embarrassing cup exit after its semifinal loss to a third-tier team last season, but it was another shaky defensive performance from a Leverkusen team that lost 7-2 to Paris Saint-Germain last week.
The game was a festival of late goals as Paderborn's Stefano Marino headed his 10-man team level at 1-1 in the 90th minute to force extra time. Paderborn briefly led in extra time through Sven Michel's goal, only for former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah to level for Leverkusen.
With a penalty shootout looming, Ibrahim Maza showed fancy footwork to score a crucial goal in the second minute added on to the second half of extra time. After Paderborn's goalkeeper joined the attack, Aleix Garcia scored into the empty net to seal Leverkusen's win.
In other games, defending German Cup champion Stuttgart beat Mainz for the second time in three days with a 2-0 win to reach the third round. Stuttgart also beat Mainz 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Union Berlin needed extra time to beat last season’s runner-up Arminia Bielefeld 2-1.
The lowest-ranked team left in the competition, fourth-tier Illertissen, was beaten 3-0 by second-tier Magdeburg. Kaiserslautern won 1-0 at Greuther Fürth, who had a player sent off four minutes after coming off the bench. Freiburg beat second-tier Fortuna Duesseldorf 3-1. Darmstadt beat Schalke 4-0.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a German soccer cup second round match between SC Paderborn and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Paderborn, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane reacts during the German soccer cup match between Cologne and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern's head coach Vincent Kompany reacts during the German soccer cup match between Cologne and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Bayern's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the German soccer cup match between Cologne and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered in afternoon trading on Wall Street Tuesday as 2025 nudges closer to the finish line.
The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged. The benchmark index is still on track for a gain of more than 17% for the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 78 points, or 0.2%, as of 2:55 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.
The biggest weights on the market remained technology companies, especially those focused on advancements for artificial intelligence.
Nvidia and Apple wobbled between small losses and breaking even. Both companies have outsized values that have a greater overall impact on the market’s broader direction.
On the winning side, Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 1.3%. The company is buying artificial intelligence startup Manus as it continues an aggressive push to amp up AI offerings across its platforms.
Markets were mixed in Asia and higher in Europe.
With just two trading days left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions and volume has been thin. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for New Year's day.
The more notable action was again in the commodities markets. Gold, silver and copper all resumed their ascent after steep declines a day earlier.
The price of gold rose 0.7% and silver prices gained 9.2% after slumping Monday when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals. Prices for both metals have surged in 2025 on a mix of economic worries and supply deficits.
Copper rose 3.6% and is up more 40% for the year on strong demand. The base metal is critical to global energy infrastructure, and demand is expected to keep growing as the development of artificial intelligence technology puts more of a strain on data centers and the energy grid.
Crude oil prices were relatively steady. The price of U.S. crude oil fell 0.1%. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.1%.
Treasury yields mostly rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.13% from 4.11% late Monday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, held steady at 3.45% from late Monday.
Overall, Treasury yields have fallen significantly through the year, partly because of the market's expectations for a shift in interest rate policy at the Fed. The central bank cut interest rates three times late in 2025, most recently at its meeting earlier in December.
The central bank has been dealing with a more complex economic picture. Consumer confidence has been weakening throughout the year as inflation squeezes consumers and businesses. The continued impact of a wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war threatens to add more fuel to inflation.
Inflation remains stubbornly high while the jobs market slows down. The Fed can cut interest rates to help the economy weather a slower jobs market. But, that could add more fuel to inflation that is still solidly above the Fed's 2% target. Hotter inflation could stunt economic growth.
The Fed has signaled more caution moving forward. Minutes from its December meeting reflect the divisions within the central bank as it deals with uncertainty about the threats facing the economy.
Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.
Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
Participants perform a traditional hand clap at the end of a ceremony to conclude the year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, right, delivers a speech as Hajime Moriyasu, left, the head coach of Japanese national soccer team, bows during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock ExchangeTuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Hajime Moriyasu, the head coach of Japanese national soccer team, rings the bell during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Participants perform a traditional hand clap at the end of a ceremony to conclude the year's trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses before ringing the bell during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A dealer watches computer monitors near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won are seen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
