Prior to the contest, Mainz presented Kane with flowers and a bottle of champagne to celebrate his Ballon d’Or triumph.
Unfortunately for the hosts, that was not the end of the gifts, as their carelessness on the ball handed Kane possession in the 14th minute, allowing the Englishman to tee up Joshua Kimmich for a fierce long-range shot that whistled past Robin Zentner.
After scoring first for the seventh time in nine league games, Bayern looked relatively untroubled until Jae-Sung Lee headed in from a deep free-kick after Manuel Neuer failed to make connection with his attempted punch.
The goalkeeper’s blushes were ultimately spared by an offside decision that angered the home faithful, although it proved to be his final act as injury forced him off on the day he became the Bundesliga’s oldest player at 40 years and 225 days old.
Having been reminded of the precarious nature of their lead, the visitors made a purposeful start to the second period and soon doubled their lead from another Kane assist.
The 33-year-old saw his initial shot blocked, but with the goalkeeper attracted to the ball, he simply had to feed Lennart Karl for a sweeping right-foot finish into the awaiting net.
Karl’s second league goal of the campaign knocked the spirit of a Mainz that were already low on confidence after losing their three previous games in all competitions.
Matters threatened to get worse for the hosts when Alphonso Davies had an effort cleared off the line, shortly before Dayot Upamecano powered his header against the crossbar.
Surprisingly, Mainz netted the game’s third goal against the run of play in stoppage time, as Phillip Tietz met an inswinging cross to send his glancing header beyond Jonas Urbig.
Fortunately for Bayern, the effort came far too late for a comeback as they remained level on points with Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table, while Urs Fischer’s charges stay in 10th spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern)
