Lead by Harry Kane, FC Bayern can still do it, and on the big stage! Munich advance to the quarter-finals and can hope for a happy ending with Tuchel.
Under Thomas Tuchel, FC Bayern is still capable of great evenings of soccer in the prestigious Champions League competition. After the best performance of the year and a brace from match-winner Harry Kane (39th/66th minute), Munich celebrated a 3:0 (2:0) win against Lazio Rome on Tuesday evening that was reminiscent of Bayern’s old qualities.
After a 1-0 draw in the first leg, the record champions stormed into the quarter-finals, which will be drawn on March 15. Bayern and their English goalscorer Kane kept their dream of reaching the final at Wembley alive with their comeback in Europe – and coach Tuchel is still hoping for a glorious farewell in the summer. Alongside Kane, veteran Thomas Müller stood out in front of 75,000 spectators at the Allianz Arena as a goalscorer (45.+2), preparer and driving force.
“These are the best evenings, Champions League,” said Tuchel on Prime Video. And it should indeed be another enjoyable evening for the Bayern coach, who is retiring at the end of the season. After all, this special Champions League backdrop seemed to inspire Bayern, who had been flagging badly of late. Tuchel’s side put in their best performance in weeks, controlling the ball and their opponents and quickly made up for the deficit from the first leg with a respectable display.
Against the ultra-defensive Italians, who are also struggling in eighth place in Serie A, Munich acted patiently, waited for their opportunities and then struck with ice-cold precision. Of course, it was Kane who untied the knot with his header and finally dashed the Romans’ hopes in the second half. Who else? The England captain scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season. In total, it was his 33rd goal in his 33rd competitive match.
But Pavlovic also played an important part. It was not only the 19-year-old who opened the scoring with his opening pass to Müller. Pavlovic was very present in midfield and has been one of the big winners so far in what has been an underwhelming second half of the season. Instead, Joshua Kimmich once again played on the right side of defense directly behind Leroy Sané, who returned to the team after his absence in Freiburg.
Sané also fired the first shot on goal, but his attempt (6th) was still too poorly placed, as was Jamal Musiala’s shot (14th). A deflected shot from Kane (17) was more dangerous. When Bayern’s play threatened to become a little idle, it was Tuchel on the touchline who repeatedly spurred his team on. “Nobody needs to worry about my ambition. It’s at the limit,” said the coach. Tuchel, who sensationally led Chelsea FC to Champions League victory in 2021, would love to bid farewell to Munich in the summer with another major title.
However, the staid Lazio were not the big measuring stick. And yet Bayern had to survive a shock moment in the first half. When Matthijs de Ligt involuntarily extended a cross, Ciro Immobile popped up in front of the largely unoccupied Manuel Neuer, but put the ball next to the goal. At the other end, however, it was also de Ligt who set up the second goal with his volley when Müller headed home. It was the international’s 54th goal in his 149th Champions League game and his first since October 2022.
The double strike before the break changed the statics of the game. The Romans had to break up their destructive style of play a little, which opened up space and opportunities for Bayern. Musiala (54′) and Raphael Guerreiro (59′) missed the preliminary decision. Kane then took care of that, converting the rebound from a Sané shot. Müller could even have added to his tally with a shot that hit the post (71′)