Bayern Munich comfortably defeated struggling Borussia Monchengladbach despite the absence of star striker Harry Kane.
The England captain was ruled out on Thursday with a calf strain, causing him to miss his first league game of the season, although manager Vincent Kompany assured that the injury is not serious.
The Bundesliga champions showed little sign of missing him as former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a well-taken volley before setting up Konrad Laimer to smash in a second goal just before half-time.
Jamal Musiala added a third after Gladbach’s Rocco Reitz was sent off for pulling Nicolas Jackson down in the penalty area, with the German midfielder calmly converting the resulting spot-kick.
Jackson, on loan from Chelsea, later tapped in Bayern’s fourth goal, while 17-year-old Wael Mohya scored a late consolation, becoming Borussia Monchengladbach’s youngest-ever goalscorer.
The victory leaves Bayern 14 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table. The team has now scored 92 goals this season, just nine short of their own league record set in 1971.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane is still chasing Robert Lewandowski’s record of 41 goals in a single Bundesliga season. The England striker currently has 30 goals with nine league matches remaining.
Kane is expected to return for Bayern’s upcoming Champions League away match against Italian side Atalanta, while Gladbach remain just three points above Werder Bremen, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.
