Kane brace seals Bayern progression
Harry Kane’s late brace earned Bayern Munich a spot in the last 16 of the Champions League after beating Galatasaray 2-1.
A frustrating first half saw Bayern have the better chances, with Kane and Leroy Sane testing Fernando Muslera, but Galatasaray began to grow into the game after the break and had a goal ruled out for offside.
The hosts earned their reward with Kane scoring twice in the final 10 minutes and they saw out the victory despite Cedric Bakambu’s stoppage-time strike.
Bayern progress to the knock-out stages having won all four of their matches in Group A so far, while defeat leaves Galatasaray third in the table.
Bayern had chances early on when Sane cut inside and had his attempted cross deflected out for a corner before Kane fired from outside of the box, but Muslera did well to tip the powerful strike over the crossbar.
The goalkeeper was called into action again, smothering Sane’s effort in a one-on-one and another Bayern attack saw the winger slice the ball wide.
A good move on the right flank saw Kingsley Coman cut inside to find Jamal Musiala, but his shot just whistled past the bottom left corner. Sane came close again, but was denied following pressure from Sacha Boey.
Bayern were forced into an early change when Musiala was taken off in the 40th minute through injury, with Thomas Muller coming on to replace him, before a rare break forward just before half-time resulted in Mauro Icardi being denied by Manuel Neuer.
The hosts had a great chance to take the lead seven minutes into the second half when a great cross from Coman was deflected by Leon Goretzka and Kane came flying in at the far post, but smashed the ball off the woodwork.
Substitute Baris Alper Yilmaz came close with his header going over the bar and the visitors had the ball in the net after Lucas Torreira poked home, but the goal was ruled offside.
Kane eventually broke the deadlock in the 80th minute after a great free-kick from Kimmich picked out the England captain, who rose highest to nod the ball home and despite initially being ruled out for offside, the goal stood following a VAR check.
He earned his second six minutes later after a brilliant move saw Muller thread the ball to Mathys Tel on the left and his low pass across goal allowed Kane to slot home his 19th Bayern goal on just his 15th club appearance.
Bayern nearly added a third when a neat ball from Serge Gnabry found Muller, but his shot trickled past a post.
The visitors pulled one back three minutes into stoppage time after an excellent pass from Sergio Oliveira picked out Bakambu, who made a great run cutting into the right and fired the ball into the bottom corner.Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Real Sociedad all booked their places in the knockout stages of the Champions League with two games to spare on a dramatic night of European action.
Bayern made it four wins out of four in Group A but only after a frantic finish in their 2-1 win over Galatasaray.
The visitors had the ball in the net just after the hour but Lucas Torreira was offside, and Bayern took the lead when Harry Kane flicked in Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick with 10 minutes to go, with the goal awarded following a VAR check after initially being ruled offside.
Kane then doubled the lead with his 25th career Champions League goal, turning in Mathys Tel’s cross in the 86th minute, and they needed the cushion as Cedric Bakambu scored for Galatasaray in stoppage time.
Galatasaray dropped to third behind Copenhagen after they won 4-3 in a chaotic game with Manchester United, who blew a 2-0 lead after Marcus Rashford was sent off in Denmark.
Rasmus Hojlund’s early brace against his former club put United in control despite the loss of Jonny Evans to injury, but the night changed when Rashford saw red for a challenge on Elias Jelert following a VAR intervention in the 42nd minute.
Ex-Southampton forward Mohamed Elyounoussi pulled one back before Diogo Goncalves levelled from the penalty spot after a Harry Maguire handball deep into first-half stoppage time.
Bruno Fernandes restored United’s lead with a 69th-minute penalty after Lukas Lerager handled, but the Copenhagen midfielder made amends with an 83rd minute equaliser before Roony Bardghji won it four minutes later, leaving United bottom of the group before their trip to Istanbul.
Real Madrid cruised through with a 3-0 win over Braga. They overcame an early scare when Alvaro Djalo missed a penalty for the visitors after Lucas Vazquez fouled Cristian Borja just four minutes in, but once Brahim Diaz put them in front in the 27th minute there was no looking back.
Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo added to the scoreline with two goals in five minutes early in the second half, and there was no way back for the visitors.
The other Group C game between Napoli and Union Berlin ended 1-1 as David Fofana’s first Union goal – and the club’s first away from home in the Champions League – cancelled out Matteo Politano’s opener.
Inter edged out RB Salzburg 1-0 in Austria to secure their progress, with the game decided by Lautaro Martinez’s 84th-minute penalty after Mads Bidstrup handled in the area.
And that result also saw Real Sociedad go through from Group D after their 3-1 win over Benfica earlier in the evening.
Early goals from Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal had Sociedad in control after just 11 minutes and it was 3-0 10 minutes later as Ander Barrenetxea fired into the roof of the net.
Brais Mendez hit the post with a penalty just before the half hour and Rafa Silva pulled one back for Benfica early in the second half, but Sociedad comfortably took the points.
Arsenal are in control of Group B after goals from Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka earned a 2-0 win over Sevilla.
The Gunners top the group with nine points, four clear of PSV Eindhoven and Lens, who are level on five after Luuk de Jong’s 12th-minute header was enough for 1-0 win over Lens, who had substitute Morgan Guilavogui sent off late on.