Bayern Munich had little trouble beating lowly Heidenheim 4-0 on Saturday (Arp 19) to put themselves within touching distance of their 34th Bundesliga title. The table now shows Bayern at the top with 72 points, nine ahead of Bayer Leverkusen who face St. Pauli on Sunday, with four rounds left to play. Bayern will host Mainz next Saturday before facing RB Leipzig and Borussia Moenchengladbach, then wrapping up their campaign with a trip to Hoffenheim on May 17.
Harry Kane scored his 24th Bundesliga goal of the season as they closed in on the German title with a convincing win at Heidenheim.
The leaders raced into a 3-0 lead after 36 minutes with 31-year-old Kane scoring the first – his 24th in the league this term – from an assist by former Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise.
Further goals before half-time by Konrad Laimer and Kingsley Coman put Bayern in control. Joshua Kimmich rifled the fourth as Bayern went nine points clear at the top with four games to go.
Nearest rivals Bayer Leverkusen, who won the title last season, can reduce the gap to six points if they win at 15th-placed St Pauli on Sunday.
Bayern's latest win lifted spirits after the German club went out of the Champions League 4-3 on aggregate against Inter Milan in midweek.
Kane has scored 35 goals in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season.
Heidenheim are 16th in the table, two points above the automatic relegation places.
In Saturday's late game, Union Berlin guaranteed they will stay in the top flight next season with a 4-4 home draw against Stuttgart. All eight goals were scored in the opening half, the first time in Bundesliga history so many goals had been scored before the break.
Union went two goals up when Andrej Ilic and Diogo Leite scored from set-pieces, but Stuttgart hit back to level at 2-2 through Deniz Undav and Enzo Millot.
Hosts Union regained the lead thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Leopold Querfeld, before Stuttgart's Jeff Chabot and Chris Fuehrich scored two in three minutes. Ilic struck again in first-half stoppage time to level the scores.
No goals were scored after half-time, meaning the all-time German record of 12 goals in one game remained intact.
Union are unbeaten in their past six games including matches against five of last season's top six.
RB Leipzig's top-four hopes took a hit with a 1-1 home draw against last-placed Holstein Kiel.
Japanese striker Shuto Machino put the visitors in front a minute before half-time, with Leipzig equalising from the spot through Benjamin Sesko when Lois Openda was felled in the box.
Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi collided with Kiel's Steven Skrzybski midway through the second half and was stretchered from the field.
Mainz however failed to take advantage of Leipzig's struggles, drawing 2-2 at home against Wolfsburg despite leading for most of the match.
Wolfsburg veteran Maximilian Arnold gave his side the lead after just three minutes but Mainz wrestled control back with two goals in four first-half minutes through Lee Jae-sung and Dominik Kohr.
Denis Vavro headed Wolfsburg level in the final minute, denting Mainz's chance of a first-ever Champions League qualification in their history.
Freiburg also boosted their European hopes with a 3-2 win over Hoffenheim, with Lucas Hoeler scoring a brace. Freiburg sit fifth, a point behind Leipzig and one ahead of Mainz, in sixth.
Werder Bremen beat Bochum 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mitchell Weiser, helping their own European chances while deepening their opponents' relegation woes.
Bochum, who have beaten Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund this season, sit second to last and are nine points from safety with four games remaining.
