MUNICH: Luis Diaz hit a hattrick as Bayern Munich pummelled a listless RB Leipzig 6-1 on Saturday to climb to the top of the Bundesliga.
Borussia Dortmund had briefly edged ahead of Freiburg into top spot after their earlier draw at Union Berlin, but Bayern responded in typically ruthless fashion.
In his 100th Bundesliga match, Harry Kane scored a goal and laid on two assists as he pulled the strings from deep, while Aleksandar Pavlovic and Michael Olise also got on the scoresheet.
The dominant display was probably Bayern's best performance of the season and a boost to their confidence ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with English champions Arsenal.
"A big game against one of the best in Europe, you have to enjoy these occasions," Kane told reporters. "We're testing ourselves against one of the best."
Diaz had faced criticism after four league games without a goal but the Colombian sparked to life at the Allianz Arena in Munich, terrorising Leipzig defender Lukas Klostermann down the left.
"Lucho (Diaz) has had some criticism this season but he was excellent tonight. Definitely the man of the hour," Bayern captain Joshua Kimmich said.
Confined to his chair with a hip complaint, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany produced a masterclass against opposite number Martin Demichelis, his former Manchester City teammate.
"You can come here and lose a match, but not like that," Demichelis said to Sky Germany. Leipzig travel to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Bayern have now won their past three games against Leipzig by a combined scoreline of 17-1.
This result came after two successive draws, a rare run of middling form for the German giants, but they shook off the funk early on, with Diaz, Pavlovic and Olise putting the hosts in control before half-time.
Diaz scored either side of a Kane tap-in after the break, with the England captain and former Tottenham striker withdrawn before the hour mark ahead of old rivals Arsenal's visit.
Leipzig's Andrija Maksimovic got on the board with a consolation in stoppage time.
Dortmund draw in Berlin
Dortmund missed a chance to stay ahead of Bayern after being held to a scoreless draw at Union Berlin.
After starting the season strongly with six wins in a row in all competitions, Dortmund have stalled of late, drawing two and losing one of their last three matches.
"We simply have to get better in attack. Right now, it's just not good enough," Dortmund's Waldemar Anton told Sky.
Serhou Guirassy had a golden chance to snatch all three points for his side at the end of a match of few opportunities, but headed just wide with 11 minutes remaining.
It was the first draw between the two sides in their history, with each of their previous 16 clashes in all competitions producing a winner.
Compounding Dortmund's woes was a serious-looking ankle injury to substitute midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas, who was helped from the pitch just eight minutes after coming on.
"Let's hope it's not too serious. He's not feeling great right now," Dortmund sporting director Nils-Ole Book told reporters.
Stuttgart suffered a blow ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, going down 1-0 at Hamburg after an 88th-minute Miro Muheim winner.
Elsewhere, promoted Elversberg continued their impressive debut season in the top flight, winning 4-3 at home to Augsburg.
Lukas Petkov, Lasse Guenther, Maximilian Rohr and Frederik Schmahl scored as Elversberg, from the smallest town to ever host a Bundesliga side, climbed to sixth in the table.
Niclas Fuellkrug scored for the fifth straight Bundesliga match as his brace helped Werder Bremen come from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Paderborn.
A first-half goal from Phillip Tietz was enough for Mainz to win 1-0 at Schalke and climb to fifth in the standings.