Harry Kane shines as Bayern crush Leverkusen, closing in on a Champions League quarter-final spot
Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich thumped Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
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Kane got the ball rolling for Bayern Munich with a ninth-minute goal as he converted a powerful header from Michael Olise’s cross. Just six minutes after the star striker broke the deadlock, Jeremie Frimpong had a huge chance to equalise when he intercepted a weak back pass from Dayot Upamecano and found himself one on one with Manuel Neuer. However, the veteran goalkeeper came off his line and blocked the shot.
Jamal Musiala should have doubled Bayern’s lead in the 22nd minute when he attempted a header from close range from Joshua Kimmich’s ball in but he agonisingly hit the woodwork.
Ten minutes after the break, Musiala made amends for his earlier miss as he finally found the back of the net following a howler from Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar. The Czech stopper let Kimmich’s cross through his hands and Musiala was on hand to capitalise. To add to Xabi Alonso’s misery, Nordi Mukiele picked up a second yellow card for a terrible challenge on Kingsley Coman and reduced his team to 10 men.
Kane then took the game and tie away from Leverkusen as he completed his brace with a spot-kick. Edmond Tapsoba brought down the Three Lions star with a ridiculous challenge inside the box and, from the resulting penalty, the frontman made it 3-0. This is the first time since 2022 that the Bavarian giants have registered a win against their Bundesliga rivals.
THE MVP
Kane ended his brief four-game goal drought in style as he scored a brace in his team’s convincing win in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. He opened the scoring with a powerful header in the ninth minute and then scored the goal that should ensure their passage to the next round in the 75th minute from the penalty spot. The England captain now has 31 goals to his name across all competitions in the 2024-25 campaign.
THE BIG LOSER
Kovar had a night to forget as his howler allowed Bayern to double their lead early in the second half. The Czech had to make a routine collection of a seemingly harmless long ball from Kimmich but he made a mess of it, allowing Musiala to pounce on the ball and roll it into an empty net.
