Harry Kane came off the bench to score a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrashed Stuttgart 5-0 on a day of late drama in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Kane struck three times in the second half to crush spirited resistance from Stuttgart, while St. Pauli and Heidenheim both grabbed injury-time goals.

“I always prefer to play the full game, but my job today was to help from the bench and as long as I can help the team, that’s the most important thing,” said Kane. “When you’re going through a season like we are and playing so many games, the boss is experienced enough to know it’s not always possible to play the same starting eleven,” he added.

“The most important thing is that when you do change it, the level doesn’t drop. It didn’t today.’

Playing their fifth game in two weeks, Bayern rested several big names in Stuttgart, with Manuel Neuer, Harry Kane and Jonathan Tah all starting on the bench. Vincent Kompany’s side still started strongly. Nicolas Jackson had an early chance, before Konrad Laimer opened the scoring with a delicate backheel on 11 minutes.