Harry Kane scores twice, Thomas Tuchel takes a breather: FC Bayern is in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Lazio Rome 3-0.
Thomas Tuchel kissed the audience with relief, then smiled and hugged sporting director Christoph Freund: Thanks to Harry Kane, Bayern Munich preserved its last small chance of winning the title and extended the half-life of its coach once again.
The German soccer record champions with double packer Kane defeated Lazio Rome in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League deservedly 3-0 (1-0) and thus moved into the round of the last eight for the fifth time in a row.
“It was a perfect evening, a big moment in our season,” said Kane on the Amazon Prime microphone. The situation surrounding Tuchel is “unusual”. He wanted to “keep the momentum going with the boys.”
Superstar Kane (38th) and original Bavarian Thomas Müller (45th + 2) made up for the first leg defeat (0-1) before the break. With his 33rd goal in the 33rd competitive game of the season, Kane (66th) finally ensured that the horror scenario of Munich’s first titleless season since 2012 was averted for the time being.
Job guarantee for Tuchel at FC Bayern
With his 57th “clean slate” in the premier class, captain Manuel Neuer also equaled the record set by Spanish legend Iker Casillas, and for his Bayern the victory was literally worth its weight in gold: UEFA awarded a bonus of another 10.6 million euros , Bavaria already has a total of over 100 million.
Tuchel, who is leaving at the end of the season, is now sitting a little more safely on the bench and can look forward to the quarter-final draw on March 15th (12 p.m.) in Nyon. His former club Paris is a possible opponent there. The first legs will take place on 9/10. April, the second legs on the 16th/17th. April.
Tuchel received a job guarantee before kick-off – as of now. “At the moment there is no other opinion,” said the new sports director Max Eberl on “Prime Video” when asked whether Tuchel would be allowed to stay even if he was eliminated.
The coach himself tried to focus on the important game and warned: Lazio would “never fully” open the door for his team. However, the guest didn’t hide, ex-Herthan player Matteo Guendouzi (5th) fired the first shot on goal of the game.
Double strike before the break paves the way to the quarter-finals
But Bayern repeatedly pushed Lazio deep into their own half and created good chances early on. Leroy Sane (6th), who came into the team for Mathys Tel after recovering from groin problems, the lively Jamal Musiala (14th) and Kane (17th) failed.
After that, the Romans managed again and again to push the Munich team outwards, where their attacking enthusiasm often fizzled out. There was no danger in the penalty area for a long time – and that was almost punished when former Dortmund player Ciro Immobile (37th) finished completely free. The first leg goalscorer’s header flew just wide.
When Bayern finally found their way through the middle, the ball was in the goal shortly afterwards: Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel didn’t look good with Kane’s misplaced header after Müller’s lay-off and an unsuccessful shot from Raphael Guerreiro.
Musiala (40th) narrowly missed making it 2-0, which Müller then managed. After a corner and a volley from Matthijs de Ligt, who replaced Min-Jae Kim, he held his head and scored his 54th goal in his 149th Champions League game.
In the second half, the Munich team was primarily concerned with control and shied away from taking any final risks. Because Lazio soon had to act more openly, opportunities still arose. After replacing Immobile, who injured his right knee, Kane used one of Sane’s passes to make the decision. The eye-catching Müller (71′) hit the post before he was substituted to loud applause.