Kane inspired Bayern ease past Lazio, Mbappe fires PSG into last eight of Champions League
Bayern Munich top scorer Harry Kane struck once in either half to steer the Germans to a 3-0 win over Italy’s Lazio on Tuesday and into the Champions League quarter-finals with an 3-1 aggregate victory, reigniting title hopes among their fans.
Kane headed in for the lead in the 38th minute to cancel out the Lazio’s first leg 1-0 advantage and then tapped in their third goal on the rebound in the 66th after Thomas Mueller’s first half stoppage time effort had made it 2-0.
The win provides instant relief for coach Thomas Tuchel, who will leave at the end of the season, and his team as they had won just one of their last five matches in all competitions prior to Tuesday and are currently 10 points off the top in the Bundesliga.
“It’s a perfect evening for us. It was a big game,” said Kane, who has scored six goals for Bayern in the competition and another 27 in the Bundesliga this season.
“We were 1-0 down in the first leg. It’s obviously a big moment in our season. It was a top performance.
“Of course we know we have to improve, but nights like this can really change the season. I’m really proud of the boys and we just have to keep this momentum going.”
Lazio were on the backfoot from the start and waited to hit the Germans on the break.
Ciro Immobile’s header was their best chance but it sailed narrowly wide a minute before Kane bagged his first knockout stage goal in the competition in five years with a diving header.
The Italians, bidding for their first quarter-final spot in 24 years, had succeeded for half an hour in keeping Bayern outside the box but could do nothing when Kane, who had missed an earlier chance, headed in from team mate Raphael Guerreiro’s miskick.
Jamal Musiala almost added another seconds later but his sliding shot just missed the target before Thomas Mueller headed in a Matthijs de Ligt volley on the stroke of halftime.
Kane now has 27 Champions League goals, with Wayne Rooney the only Englishman to have scored more in the competition (30).
The former Tottenham Hotspur striker killed off any hopes of an Italian comeback in the 68th, tapping in on the rebound after Leroy Sane’s shot was palmed into his path.
The Bavarians refused to step off the gas and Mueller almost scored a second himself but keeper Ivan Provedel tipped his shot onto the post in the 71st.
Bayern have now made it to at least the final eight in 12 of the last 13 campaigns.
Mbappe brace fires PSG into Champions League quarters
Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe scored twice to lead them into the Champions League quarter-finals with a comfortable 2-1 win away to Real Sociedad in their last-16 second leg that wrapped up a 4-1 aggregate victory on Tuesday.
Bidding to win their first Champions League title, a disciplined PSG made the most of their chances from counter attacks, with the lightning fast Mbappe a constant menace.
After a remarkable group stage when they went unbeaten to finish ahead of last-year’s finalists Inter Milan in Group D, LaLiga side Real Sociedad, who are struggling with injuries and have won one of their last 10 matches in all competitions, ran out of steam.
Mbappe was enjoying an inspired night and his speed and agility were too much for the hosts’ defence to handle. He was virtually unstoppable down left channel and Tuesday’s brace means he has scored 11 of PSG’s last 15 Champions League knockout goals.
“We knew right away that we couldn’t go to sleep. If they had opened the scoring, they would have pushed on with their fans’ backing,” Mbappe told Canal Plus.
“We had to dampen their hopes early on. That’s what we did, and we’re very happy to be back in the quarter-finals.”
Mbappe created a couple of opportunities early on before scoring the opener with a fabulous curling strike in the 15th minute.
After receiving a long pass from Ousmane Dembele, he surged into the box, darting in from the byline and feigning to shoot, before shifting the ball out of his feet again and creating just enough space to fire a curling effort into the far corner.
The goal silenced a sold-out Reale Arena, who were seemingly stunned by the vision and technique of the France captain, who had a similar effort later denied by keeper Alex Remiro.
But Mbappe scored again in the 56th minute as he took a Lee Kang-in through ball in his stride before bursting into the box and beating the goalkeeper at his near post.
PSG seemed content to sit back against a tame Real Sociedad who carried little threat for most of the game.
They tried to make a late push, but were first denied by the post from a Martin Zubimendi strike and then by keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma who made a fine reflex save to deny Benat Turrientes from close range.
Mikel Merino finally netted a consolation goal in the 89th minute with a deflected strike, but it was too little too late to prevent PSG reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in three years.