Harry Kane became the first English player to hit double figures in a Champions League or European Cup campaign as the striker helped Bayern Munich cruise into the quarter-finals and keep the dream of a home final alive.
Having struggled mightily to see off Celtic in the play-off round, Vincent Kompany’s side were remarkably untroubled by Bayer Leverkusen as Xabi Alonso’s German champions were swept aside 2-0 on Tuesday night to complete a 5-0 aggregate victory for the Bavarian giants.
A free-kick early in the second half was the spark for the kind of Leverkusen defensive chaos that was all too evident in last week’s first leg, and Kane bundled home his 32nd of the campaign, taking his Bayern record to 76 goals in 81 games.
Canada captain Alphonso Davies, whose injury-time winner eventually saw off Celtic in the previous round, got in on the act again as the wing-back arrived right on cue with a surging 71st-minute run into the box.
Kane found him with a beautifully lobbed through ball, and Davies side-footed it home in some style.
With the May 31st Final at the Allianz Arena very much on the horizon, Kompany and his players must now plot a way past Inter Milan in the quarter-finals.
The last remaining Serie A side in this year’s tournament were ultimately comfortable as they progressed past Feyenoord at the San Siro.
Leading 2-0 from last week’s first leg in Rotterdam, Simone Inzaghi’s side got off to the perfect nerve-settling start when forward Marcus Thuram scored just eight minutes in.
The French international picked up the ball deep in the Dutch side’s half on the left wing but took it himself, driving into the box before cutting inside and unleashing a brilliant finish.
A penalty shortly before half-time offered Robin van Persie’s side a much-needed glimmer of hope, and Polish winger Jakub Moder dispatched it confidently.
It would be only a brief ray of light, however. Six minutes after the interval, the hosts were handed their own spot kick, and Turkish playmaker Hakan Çalhanoglu, who’d converted a penalty in the first leg, made no mistake.
Bayern will now host Inter in the first leg of their last-eight showdown next month before a trip to Milan.
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