Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane scored twice, once in each half, to lead his team to a dominant 3-0 victory over 10-man Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League round of 16 first-leg match on Wednesday.
The win marked Bayern’s first victory in the last seven encounters with Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, giving them a strong advantage ahead of the return leg next week.
For Leverkusen, who sit second in the league behind Bayern, it was a disappointing night, filled with defensive errors and sloppy mistakes in their worst performance of the season.
“We did a lot of things right, otherwise, you cannot beat such a team,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said after the match. “We have to repeat what we did well today next week.”
“It’s only the first half; we have to play them again and need to deliver the same performance. This was the most important game of the season so far, but hopefully, we’ll get more important games.”
The Bundesliga leaders quickly asserted dominance, taking a ninth-minute lead with Kane’s powerful header. His 30th goal of the season ended his four-game goal drought.
Leverkusen almost equalized just five minutes later, but Jeremie Frimpong, unmarked in front of goal, failed to beat Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who was making his 150th Champions League appearance.
Bayern continued to control the match and nearly added a second when Jamal Musiala’s header hit the crossbar.
Leverkusen, who had left top strikers Victor Boniface and Patrick Schick on the bench, appeared a shadow of the team that had held Bayern to a goalless draw in the league just two weeks earlier.
The visitors’ goalkeeper, Matej Kovar, made a costly mistake in the 54th minute, dropping a cross from Joshua Kimmich, which allowed Musiala to tap in for Bayern’s second goal.
Things went from bad to worse for Leverkusen when Nordi Mukiele was sent off after receiving a second booking. Kane sealed the win with a clinical 75th-minute penalty, his 31st goal of the season.
“It will take time to process this game,” Leverkusen coach Alonso admitted. “A lot went against us today, but that was our own fault. We didn’t have good control and made big mistakes.”
“But it’s not over until it’s over. The craziest things have already happened in football, and we’ll fight to make something happen next week,” he added.
The only downside for Bayern came in the 58th minute, when Neuer had to be taken off with an injury.
The winners of this tie will face either Feyenoord or Inter Milan in the quarterfinals.
