Two of the biggest names in the striker game stood up to be counted as the first two teams through to the Champions League quarterfinals were confirmed on Wednesday (AEDT.
Harry Kane’s double helped Bayern Munich overcome a 1-0 first half deficit against Lazio, with a header from evergreen Thomas Muller giving the German club a comfortable 3-1 victory over the two legs, and sparing coach Thomas Tuchel in the short term.
In Spain, Kylian Mbappe led Paris Saint-Germain back to the quarterfinals by scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.
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PSG advanced 4-1 on aggregate, with Mbappe, who is leaving the club next season, also scoring one of the goals in the 2-0 first-leg win in Paris three weeks ago.
Bayern, who are 10 points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga, were facing the prospect of just their second exit in 12 appearances at this stage of the competition.
Their first leg defeat was one of the reasons why Tuchel is heading pout the door at the end of the season – there were thoughts he might go immediately if their season was effectively ended by Lazio.
“It’s unusual but we have the responsibility as players, not just to manager but the club as well to put everything into every competition,” Kane said afterwards.
“It’s a perfect evening for us. It was a big game.
“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.
“It was a really important moment in our season. Everyone was looking at us, looking at how we were going to respond after the first leg.
“Hopefully we can use this as a turning point for the rest of the season.”
Kane broke the deadlock in the 38th minute after Ciro Immobile had gone close for Lazio at the other end. Muller headed Aleksandar Pavlovic’s cross back for Raphael Guerreiro to mis-hit it, and Kane threw himself at the ball to just head it past Ivan Provedel in the Lazio goal.
There was still time before the break for Muller to score with a glancing header to Matthijs de Ligt’s shot after a corner.
Kane sealed the result in the 66th by firing in the rebound after Leroy Sane drew a save from Provedel. It was the England captain’s sixth Champions League goal this season.
Despite the ease of Bayern’s win, they will need to step up again if drawn against one of the competition heavy weights.
“There is still something missing from Bayern,” said former Chelsea and Scotland star Pat Nevin on the BBC.
“In the past we looked at Bayern as real contenders for the Champions League. In reality, if you put Man City in front of them tonight, both playing their best sides, City would wipe the floor with them. Absolutely wipe the floor with them, all over the pitch.
“But that is not necessarily how it plays out in reality because City will be battling and chasing in the Premier League and the FA Cup. The only thing that you think will stop City in the Champions League is that they will be stretched far more than anyone else left in the competition.”
‘Unplayable’ Mbappe the difference again
Despite huge spending to try and win the competition for the first time, PSG had been eliminated from the last 16 five times in the last seven seasons, including the last two. They made it to the semi-finals in 2021 and were runners-up in 2020.
Mbappe was the difference-maker again in Spain, opening the scoring with a beautiful goal in the 15th minute after a couple of nifty moves inside the area to cut back from near the touchline and fire a firm right-footed shot into the far corner. The shot broke the netting by the far post, prompting a short stoppage in play so it could be fixed.
“You are thinking how is he going to score from there [for the first goal]? But he shifts it so quickly before you know it the ball is in the back of the net,” said former England player and coach Glenn Hoddle on TNT Sports.
“The defender goes for an ice cream. When he is that form he is unplayable.”
His second goal came in the 56th with a run that started from near the midfield line. He sped to the open space to collect a long pass by Lee Kang-in and calmly found the net from inside the area.
Mikel Merino scored Sociedad’s goal in the 89th.
(With AAP)
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