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European football: Harry Kane back with penalty winner for Bayern Munich | European club football

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Harry Kane netted a penalty to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach in their first Bundesliga match after the winter break, keeping them four points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.

The England captain sent Gladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas the wrong way in the 68th minute to break the deadlock and bag his 15th league goal this season to maintain his status as the Bundesliga’s top scorer.

Bayern had control of the game with 70% possession in the first half but struggled to convert that to goals after going close through Thomas Müller and Leon Goretzka.

The Bavarians, who had several more chances to score after Kane’s penalty, are in top spot on 39 points, with champions Leverkusen in second place on 35 after Friday’s 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund.

It was one-way traffic from the start with Bayern having control of the game. Gladbach were content to sit back and soak up the pressure, having no effort on or towards goal in the entire first half, and leaving Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, making his comeback after a month-long injury absence, with little to do.

Gladbach’s Tim Kleindienst almost struck four minutes after the restart but his header at the far post flew narrowly over the bar. But it was Kane who scored when he converted the spotkick following a foul on Michael Olise in the box.

Vincent Kompany’s team should have scored again late in the game but neither Alphonso Davies nor Serge Gnabry could beat Nicolas.

Gladbach dropped to 10th place following their first home game this season in which they failed to score.

Torino’s Nikola Vlasic celebrates his equaliser against Juventus. Photograph: Alessandro Di Marco/EPA

In Serie A, Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Torino after Nikola Vlasic cancelled out Juve’s early opener by Kenan Yildiz, while both coaches were sent off after the break in a heated derby.

Yildiz put Juventus in front in the eighth minute with a low shot from outside the box before Vlasic levelled for the hosts in first-half stoppage time with a powerful strike that went in after rattling the post.

Torino’s Paolo Vanoli and Thiago Motta of Juventus were sent off early in the second half after both benches protested when the Juventus defender Nicolo Savona was deemed to have brought down Yann Karamoh just outside the penalty area. Juventus remain fifth in the standings on 33 points from 19 games. Torino are 11th with 22 points.

Earlier, Atalanta were held 0-0 at Udinese as they missed the chance to move level on points with Napoli at the top, but they were fortunate to escape with a draw thanks to the woodwork and alert goalkeeping of Marco Carnesecchi.

Atalanta’s second draw in a row means they are second on 42 points, two behind Napoli, who have also played 19 games and host Hellas Verona on Sunday. Udinese are ninth with 26.

The hosts dominated most of the match and came agonisingly close just after the half-hour mark when Carnesecchi had to make a remarkable save to claw a header from Jaka Bijol off the line. Atalanta rode their luck again shortly before the break as Udinese’s Alexis Sánchez struck the woodwork with a header and rattled the crossbar from the rebound before Carnesecchi kept out Sandi Lovric’s effort in a dramatic sequence.

However, Atalanta nearly snatched victory in the dying moments when Lazar Samardzic had their second shot on target but Razvan Sava made a crucial save to ensure it ended goalless.

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