Harry Kane insisted that Bayern Munich's season had only just begun after they thumped 10-man Hoffenheim 5-1 to move six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Kane took his tally to 24 goals in 21 league appearances in 2025-26 with his first-half brace from the penalty spot, but it was Luis Diaz who stole the show on Sunday.
The former Liverpool winger netted a hat-trick, with his first goal in the 47th minute teed up by Kane, before he added two more in a scintillating attacking display from Bayern.
Michael Olise also grabbed an assist, and he has now recorded at least one assist in six consecutive Bundesliga matches. With 16 assists in 2025-26, the Frenchman has already surpassed his tally from last season (15).
Bayern were worthy of their triumph, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 5.64 from their 27 shots compared to Hoffenheim's 2.04 from their nine attempts.
The Bundesliga giants are also in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, where they face RB Leipzig on Wednesday, as well as the last 16 of the Champions League, and Kane is relishing the challenge of the upcoming schedule.
"Obviously, there's been a bit of disquiet around the team in the last few weeks after not winning a few games," Kane told Bayern's official website.
"That's why it was important for us to stay calm and true to ourselves. We had a full week to prepare, the level in training was very high.
"You see that the squad is fit, the squad is healthy, everyone’s pushing to be on the pitch. And you saw that again today, especially in the first 15 minutes.
"We came out with real intensity. Then they were reduced to 10. That disturbed our rhythm a bit. We needed about 15 or 20 minutes to get back into our game and our style.
"Credit to Hoffenheim, they're a good side and play good football. We know we're coming into the crucial phase of the season now.
"We have a good lead at the top at the moment, but as we saw last week, that can also quickly shrink.
"We said early on in the season that we wanted to be in a good position with a fit, healthy squad in February and March.
"We're top of the table, still in the DFB Cup and finished in the top eight in the Champions League.
"This is a good moment for us. The season begins for real now – and we have to carry on from here and see who can keep up."
Bayern are assigned a 96.8% chance of retaining their Bundesliga title, despite being put under pressure by Borussia Dortmund after their win away at Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Vincent Kompany's side are also predicted to go far in the Champions League, winning the competition in 13% of the Opta supercomputers tournament simulations, with only Arsenal (30%) assigned a higher probability of victory.
But the trophy on Bayern's mind at present is potentially the DFB-Pokal, with the club failing to win the trophy since 2019-20 when they beat Bayer Leverkusen in the final, and Kompany, while pleased with his team's win over Hoffenheim, placed extra importance on their next match.
"Perfect would maybe be if it had finished 5-0 or 6-0, but we respect Hoffenheim and knew that they're a good team, so it’s a good result," Kompany added.
"We couldn't have asked for much more from this match, and we're in the position we need to be in. Now the full focus is on Leipzig.
"Obviously, you try to strike a balance, but when you score so many goals, you have to encourage that.
"I've got a lot of experience in these situations, where you've got a chance of winning something at the end. You need tunnel vision.
"It doesn't matter if you get three points, put in a good or bad performance – you have to move on straight away and be at your best again in the next game."