FOOTBALL – Harry Kane scored a goal in each half as Bayern Munich beat Lazio 3-0 last night to reach the Champions League quarter-finals 3-1 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe lethally fired Paris Saint-Germain into the quarter-finals with a brace in a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad, his team cruising through 4-1 on aggregate.
Kane headed Bayern level in the tie in the 38th minute, cancelling out Lazio’s lead from the first leg with his first Champions League knockout goal in five years.
Thomas Mueller doubled the hosts’ lead with a clever header before half-time and Kane doubled up in the 66th minute, tapping in the rebound from a Leroy Sane shot to seal Bayern’s progress to the next round.
Bayern kept their slim hopes of silverware this season alive while likely giving outgoing coach Thomas Tuchel a stay of execution until the quarter-finals in April.
The loss snuffed out Lazio’s chance of a first Champions League quarter-final appearance since 1999-2000.
Six-time European champions Bayern came into last night’s match staring down the barrel of a last-16 elimination for just the second time in the past 14 seasons.
Three straight losses including the 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Rome amounted to Bayern’s worst run since 2015, costing Tuchel his job less than a year after arriving in Munich.
With Tuchel allowed to keep the seat warm until the summer, the coach promised to be more “ruthless”.
Yesterday, he benched big-money signing Kim Min-jae for Eric Dier, while moving Joshua Kimmich - a fixture in midfield for Bayern and Germany – to right-back.
Bayern pushed Lazio back early with the fit-again Sane and Jamal Musiala going close.
Scorer of the first-leg’s only goal, Ciro Immobile had a golden chance to extend Lazio’s lead after a Matthijs de Ligt mistake on 36 minutes but dragged his header just wide.
The miss would prove costly with Kane breaking through moments later, heading in a scuffed Raphael Guerreiro shot to even up the tie.
Mueller doubled Bayern’s lead in first-half stoppage time, heading in a De Ligt shot in trademark poacher fashion.
Despite 31 goals in 32 games since arriving from Spurs in the summer, the German media joked the famously trophyless Kane had cursed Bayern, in danger of a first season without silverware since 2012.
The England captain made sure Bayern stayed in Europe though, turning in from close range after Sane forced a save from Lazio ‘keeper Ivan Provedel, his 33rd goal in as many appearances this season.
Bayern kept their first clean sheet in eight games with captain Manuel Neuer equalling the Champions League record of 57 set by Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas.
Coach Luis Enrique has slashed Mbappe’s minutes in recent weeks after the player told the club he would leave at the end of the season, but the France captain proved he will be vital if PSG are to finally win the competition for the first time.
The electric Mbappe was impossible for Real Sociedad to shackle and his strikes after 15 and 56 minutes left the Ligue 1 leaders with a simple night in the north of Spain.
The forward fired over in the opening stages and then blazed past Hamari Traore to set up Bradley Barcola, but Alex Remiro denied him from point-blank range.
It was not so much that Real Sociedad did not heed the warning but simply could not stop him.
Played into the box but wide of goal, Mbappe produced the opener from thin air. With a couple of clever touches he sent Igor Zubeldia scrambling and opened up enough space for a shot, which he whipped into the far corner from a tight angle.
Mbappe’s vicious strike pulled part of the netting away from the post and players had to wait until it was fixed for play to resume. They might not have bothered – the contest was effectively over.
Mbappe stretched PSG’s lead 11 minutes into the second half, racing in behind the defence from the halfway line.
The striker shaped another shot to the far post but then tricked Remiro by sweeping home at the near for his sixth goal in eight Champions League matches this season.
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