Bayern cruises to 4-0 win over Heidenheim to take 9-point lead into Bundesliga winter break

HEIDENHEIM, Germany (AP) — Harry Kane scored his 30th club goal of the season as Bayern Munich shrugged off an injury and illness crisis to sweep past Heidenheim 4-0 on Sunday and go into the Bundesliga's winter break with a nine-point lead.

Kane beat two defenders and hit a powerful shot in off the post for a stoppage-time goal which took him to 30 in 25 games in all competitions for Bayern this season, 19 of them in the German league.

“We know there’s a long way from now until the end of the season but we’re doing all the right things," Kane told broadcaster DAZN. "The belief is there, the team spirit is there, and that’s what we need to continue into the new year.”

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany named a bench packed with youth players after his squad was diminished by injuries to several players including captain Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich, a suspension for Konrad Laimer, Nicolas Jackson's absence at the Africa Cup of Nations and an illness affecting three players.

The starters made sure the game was under control long before any substitutes were needed.

Two defenders combined for Bayern's opening goal as Jonathan Tah headed a corner on for Josip Stanisic to nod in.

Heidenheim's fans called staying in the top division “our Christmas wish” in a giant banner shown before kickoff but their team didn't register a shot on target and goes into the winter break in 17th place in the 18-team Bundesliga.

Bayern's second goal was an extreme example of the defensive errors which have cost Heidenheim this year. Defender Patrick Mainka collided with his goalkeeper and the ball bounced around the box until Michael Olise finally jabbed it into the net.

Luis Díaz made sure of the win with a header off Stanisic's cross in the 86th before Kane made it 4-0.

Bayern hasn't lost to German opposition since March and has 13 wins and two draws from 15 Bundesliga games this season, averaging more than 3.6 goals per league game.

Borussia Dortmund is second, nine points off Kompany's team, with Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig both three points further back.

Also Sunday, new Mainz coach Urs Fischer stayed unbeaten in four games in all competitions with a 0-0 draw with St. Pauli for his last-placed team. St. Pauli is 16th.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

St. Pauli's Joel Chima Fujita, centre, Mainz's Jae-sung Lee and Mainz's Benedict Hollerbach, left, fight for the ball during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and FC St. Pauli, in Mainz, Germany, Sunday Dec. 21, 2025. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Josip Stanisic celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Heidenheim and Bayern Munich, in Heidenheim, Germany, Sunday Dec. 21, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Michael Olise celebrates after scoring their side's second goal of the game during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Heidenheim and Bayern Munich, in Heidenheim, Germany, Sunday Dec. 21, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

Bayern's Luis Díaz, left, celebrates with Harry Kane after scoring their side's third goal of the game during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Heidenheim and Bayern Munich, in Heidenheim, Germany, Sunday Dec. 21, 2025. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has privately discussed the possibility of firing Attorney General Pam Bondi and replacing her with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.

In those conversations, Trump has discussed his ongoing frustration with Bondi over her handing of the Jeffrey Epstein files and hurdles the Justice Department has encountered in investigations into Trump’s perceived enemies, the people said. The Republican president has mentioned other candidates but has raised Zeldin’s name as recently as this week, the people said.

The people were not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversations and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

No decision has been announced, and Trump has been known to change his mind on personnel decisions.

"Attorney General Pam Bondi is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job,” Trump said in a statement produced by the White House.

Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, has been publicly and privately praised by Trump, who at an event in February described him as “our secret weapon.”

Bondi, a former state attorney general in Florida and a Trump loyalist who was part of his legal team during his first impeachment case, has been in her position for more than a year. She came into office pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the president’s political and personal agenda.

She has also endured months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files that made her the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump.

Under Bondi’s leadership, the department opened investigations into a string of Trump foes, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan.

The high-profile prosecutions of Comey and James were quickly thrown out by a judge who ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases was illegally appointed. Other politically charged investigations have either been rejected by grand juries or failed to result in criminal charges.

Attorney General Pam Bondi listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump walks from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)