Canada’s Alphonso Davies scores in injury-hit Bayern win over Augsburg in Bundesliga

Jan 27, 2024 | 11:00 AM

AUGSBURG, Germany (AP-CP) — Canadian Alphonso Davies scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season for Bayern Munich in a 3-2 win over local rival Augsburg on Saturday when Kingsley Coman went off hurt.

Davies, 23, hit a low, curling drive to make it 2-0, for his first goal since scoring against Augsburg 10 months ago.

Elsewhere, Stuttgart hammered Leipzig 5-2 and a spectator unexpectedly became a game official in Wolfsburg.

Harry Kane scored his 23rd Bundesliga goal and needed a video review to be sure of scoring Bayern’s third of the game. He was in an offside position when Jamal Musiala played the ball, but the replay showed it came off Augsburg’s Kristijan Jakić. It followed two Bundesliga games without scoring for Kane, his longest such break since signing for Bayern.

Earlier, 19-year-old midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović opened the scoring with his first goal in the Bundesliga following a corner before Davies doubled the lead. Ermedin Demirović’s header briefly gave Augsburg hope of a comeback before Kane scored.

Bayern gave away two late penalties, one saved by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, the other converted by Demirović.

Bayern forward Coman seemed to be injured as Pavlovic scored the opening goal. Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel was already contending with a raft of injuries and absences among key players.

New loan signing Eric Dier had his first Bayern start since joining from Tottenham alongside Matthijs de Ligt in the centre of defence. Raphael Guerreiro, normally a left back, was on the right of defence, while Pavlovic made his fourth career Bundesliga start in midfield.

Bayern stayed second. League leader Bayer Leverkusen hosted Borussia Moenchengladbach late Saturday.

LEIPZIG SLUMPS

Deniz Undav’s hat trick for Stuttgart gave his team the edge in the race to qualify for the Champions League. Leipzig has started 2024 with three straight losses in the Bundesliga.

Stuttgart stayed third and tightened its hold on a Champions League qualifying place. The team showed it can get goals even without top scorer Serhou Guirassy, who is with Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Benjamin Šeško and Loïs Openda scored for Leipzig but the young forwards couldn’t balance out poor defending, especially for Undav’s third goal, when Leipzig seemed unprepared for a quickly taken Stuttgart free kick.

FAN BECOMES GAME OFFICIAL

A spectator from the crowd was the star of Wolfsburg’s 1-1 draw with Cologne after stepping in to serve as the fourth official.

Tobias Krull, who’s normally a goalkeeper for a local sixth-division team, volunteered to help after assistant referee Thorben Siewer was hit in the face by a clearance and left the field hurt.

United States midfielder Kevin Paredes scored in his first start for Wolfsburg since Nov. 10.

Werder Bremen beat Freiburg 3-1. Hoffenheim and Heidenheim drew 1-1.

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The Associated Press