Rumours surfaced that under-fire manager Thomas Tuchel could be on his way out of Bayern Munich if the Bavarians could not turn the tide against SS Lazio in the UEFA Champions Last 16, but thanks to veterans such Harry Kane and Thomas Müller, the Tuchel-led German outfit were able to overcome their 1-0 deficit suffered in the first leg of the continental cup tie with three goals at their home of Allianz Arena yesterday. Harry Kane was the scorer for first and third goals against the Italian Serie A side for Bayern Munich, whereas Müller played a huge part in bringing the Bavarians to the overall lead in the knockout round of the top-tiered European club football competition.
England Skipper Harry Kane Locked In for Bayern’s Turnaround Over Lazio at Home
Tuchel’s men dominated the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg at home, preventing the away side from having any shots on target throughout the 90 minutes plus added time. The deadlock of this cup tie and the aggregate score was broken and levelled up in the 38th minute with a patient buildup play by the the home team. Portuguese left-back Raphaël Guerreiro’s contact with the ball inside the penalty box from a delivery was untidy, but Harry Kane was there to clean it up for his teammate just before the six-yard box, heading in a shot that went past Ivan Provedel during the play.
The Bavarians finally saw themselves earning their first lead in the overall tie during the stoppage time of the opening 45 minutes, courtesy of one-club man Müller. The 34-year-old Müller had penned an extension with Bayern until June 2025 earlier this season, and was present to deflect an incredible volley from centre-back Matthijs de Ligt off a corner delivery, before the ball ending in the back of the net for the Bavarians’ 2-0 lead prior to the half-time break. The goal was only Müller’s first in this season’s UEFA Champions League, and he has now netted 238 tallies for his long-time club of Bayern Munich.
SS Lazio from the Italian top-flight football just could not find their first-leg momentum in this returning leg against Bayern at Allianz Arena, and the 2-0 advantage soon became larger after the hour mark. Leroy Sané, who started the game despite an injury, received the ball at the right flank and he worked his way into the dangerous zone, followed by a left-footed curled shot that was parried away by Provedel. Unfortunately to the 29-year-old Italian goalkeeper, his save let the ball fall into the plate of Harry Kane, who would make no mistakes from such a close range, and Harry Kane’s second goal guaranteed Bayern a place in the UCL Last 8 with a 3-1 aggregate win.
View this post on Instagram
Man of the Match Harry Kane Now Scored 33 Goals in 33 Games for the Bavarians
In terms of statistics, ex-Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane really is not the player to blame for Bayern’s misfortune in the 2023/2024 Season, especially in the German Bundesliga 1. Via his couple of goals versus SS Lazio yesterday, the 30-year-old all-time leading goal scorer in the history of Spurs has brought his tally to 33 goals in addition to eight assists in 33 games played across all tournaments in his first season with the German football juggernauts.
It is worth mentioning the captain of the Three Lions and the current top scorer of the German Bundesliga 1 is only eight goals away from matching his best-scoring season of 41 goals in 48 appearances, which was set in Tottenham Hotspur jerseys back in the 2017/2018 Season.
You Might Be Interested: Frenkie de Jong and Pedri Injured in FC Barcelona’s Dreadful 0-0 Stalemate Against Athletic Club
🇪🇺✨ UCL MOTM AWARD… 🎖️
Bayern 3-0 Lazio: Harry Kane (30)
Real Sociedad 1-2 PSG: Kylian Mbappé (25) pic.twitter.com/3vIgvnjzYe— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) March 5, 2024
Tuchel Broke His Toe During Pre-Match Motivational Speech
Harry Kane, whose brace led Bayern Munich to reach the UCL Quarterfinals and earned himself the MOTM award, said this after the game: “If we perform like that in most games we’re going to come out with a victory. It was a pleasing day, It’s been a good season so far in terms of the goals but as a team we know we can do better. I’m trying to help that situation, the team are trying to help that situation, and I hope we can use this as a turning point to push on in the Bundesliga and see if we can put pressure on Leverkusen –– and see who we can get in the next round of the Champions League.”
Tuchel was a relieved man after his side came back to defeat SS Lazio on aggregate. The German also verified the news that he has hurt himself during a pre-match speech for his players in the dressing room. “I kicked a box in the dressing room during the motivational speech and hurt my big toe. I don’t think I can take the shoe off. The team wondered why I was sitting for almost 90 minutes. We were very disciplined. It was a very solid performance. We didn’t lose our heads. We were much braver and played better than in the first leg. The second goal came at the perfect time. We deserved to win with a very cohesive team performance.”
After their 3-1 triumph versus SS Lazio in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Tuchel’s and Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich will remain at their home ground of Allianz Arena to welcome 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Matchday 25 of the 2023/2024 German top-flight football season this weekend. The Bavarians currently trail the Xabi Alonso-led first-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen by a huge margin of 10 points with 10 games remaining in the league campaign, and it will take a dramatic turn of events for Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich to become German champions again at the end of the current year.
Read Next: Al-Ain Defeat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr 1-0 in the AFC Champions League Quarterfinal First Leg
