Tag: Harry Kane

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PSG edge Bayern in nine-goal Champions League semifinal epic

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele scored twice each as Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in an epic first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday — an extraordinary encounter that was the highest-scoring match ever at this stage of the competition.

The first half alone was crazy, with Harry Kane giving Bayern the lead from a penalty, only for Kvaratskhelia to equalise before Joao Neves headed the hosts in front at an enthralled Parc des Princes.

Michael Olise made it 2-2, but a Dembele penalty in first-half stoppage time had the reigning champions back ahead at the interval.

Kvaratskhelia, surely the standout player in this season’s Champions League, and Dembele both then scored again to have hosts PSG seemingly out of sight, only for Dayot Upamecano to pull one back before Luis Diaz made it 5-4.

An unforgettable game — perhaps better even than last season’s semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona — leaves the tie between the continent’s two best teams of the moment wonderfully poised for next Wednesday’s return at the Allianz Arena, with a place in the final in Budapest on May 30 on the line.

“I’m sure everyone who loves football really enjoyed watching that. It was a real pleasure to play in that game, the kind of game we dream of playing in as kids,” PSG captain Marquinhos told broadcaster Canal Plus.

His team will be returning to Munich — scene of their 5-0 win over Inter in last year’s final — with the advantage, but Bayern will be confident they can overturn the narrow deficit at home.

“We fought and we clawed and we’re back in the tie,” Kane told Amazon Prime. “I thought there was amazing defending even though there were nine goals.”

The French champions are seeking to become just the second side in the modern Champions League era to retain the trophy, while the German champions are hoping to reach the final for the first time since 2020, when they defeated PSG to lift the trophy for the sixth time.

Vincent Kompany’s team arrived in Paris having scored 167 goals this season, led by the remarkable Kane and his 53 goals in 45 appearances.

This tie had a lot to live up to, after Bayern’s spectacular win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, but it was an instant classic as both teams showcased their devastating firepower.

Bayern went ahead in the 17th minute as Willian Pacho chopped down Diaz and Kane converted the resulting penalty for his 54th of the campaign.

The visitors won 2-1 here in November in the league phase thanks to a Diaz double and they were the better team early on this time.

But their front-foot approach made them vulnerable to the counter-attack, and PSG’s leveller came just after the midway point in the first half.

The brilliant Kvaratskhelia broke clear of Josip Stanisic down the left before cutting inside and firing into the far corner.

A classic Kvaratskhelia goal was followed by Neves heading in Dembele’s corner on 33 minutes.

The action was only just getting started, however, as French international Olise drove towards the PSG box before smashing in for 2-2.

PSG then won a penalty at the end of the first half when a Dembele cross struck the arm of Alphonso Davies, the Canadian making his first start in the Champions League this season after injury.

It was given by the Swiss referee after a VAR check, and Dembele beat Manuel Neuer to make it 3-2 at half-time — a lead which PSG added to after the restart, leaving Bayern stunned.

Achraf Hakimi’s assist was swept in by Kvaratskhelia for 4-2 on 56 minutes, the Georgian getting his seventh goal in seven games in the knockout phase.

Bayern were not able to reset before Dembele surprised Neuer with a shot in off the near post to make it 5-2 with his second of the night.

But Bayern were not done, as Upamecano headed in Joshua Kimmich’s free-kick to take Kompany’s side to 170 for their season tally.

Diaz, who was sent off in the November meeting, then dribbled past Marquinhos before slotting in for the night’s final goal, making it 5-4.

Kompany, watching from the stands due to suspension, would have been delighted with his team’s response — even if they were relieved to see Senny Mayulu’s late strike for PSG come back off Neuer’s crossbar. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal survives tense Sporting stalemate to reach Champions League semis

Arsenal reached the Champions League semifinals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory on Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta’s team were well below their best in the quarterfinal second leg at the Emirates Stadium. But they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay for the latest in a growing list of angst-ridden performances.

The Gunners will face Atletico Madrid for a place in the final after the Spanish club went through 3-2 on aggregate against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Arsenal crushed Atletico 4-0 in the group stage at the Emirates in October, but they will have to improve significantly to reach the final for the first time since 2006.

Arsenal have reached the Champions semifinals in two consecutive seasons for the first time in their history. Yet after losing three of their last five games in all competitions and winning just once, they remain a puzzling side in the midst an untimely stumble.

Arteta had challenged Arsenal to play with “pure fire” and “zero fear” in an unusually passionate press conference on Tuesday. The response was hardly emphatic as Arsenal quickly retreated into their shell in another display lacking cohesion and quality in the final third.

Arsenal haven’t lifted the Premier League since 2004 and have never won the Champions League. The Premier League leaders are on course to achieve both targets, but the flaws in Arteta’s side have become increasingly clear in recent weeks.

Losing the League Cup final against Manchester City and the FA Cup quarterfinal against second-tier Southampton was bad enough. But a shock 2-1 home defeat against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday left Arteta facing pointed questions about Arsenal’s character that remain unanswered.

Arsenal are just six points ahead of second-placed City, who have a game in hand and host the Gunners in a seismic showdown on Sunday.

The north Londoners have finished Premier League runners-up for the past three seasons — twice blowing substantial leads to City in 2023 and 2024 — and the nerves are mounting.

Responding to Arteta’s call for a fiery performance, Arsenal pressed furiously in the opening 10 minutes but couldn’t make the breakthrough.

Once that initial assault petered out, Arsenal wobbled at the back and William Saliba’s wayward pass led to Francisco Trincao curling wide from the edge of the area.

Former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has endured an erratic debut season with Arsenal and once again he struggled to make an impact.

Gyokeres had only one serious sight of goal after a burst into the Sporting six-yard box, but he didn’t get his shot off in time and Goncalo Inacio’s tackle snuffed out the danger.

Without the injured Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal were too often slow and unambitious in attack.

They grew increasingly edgy in a first half played out to a soundtrack of anxious groans from their frustrated fans.

Gunners ‘keeper David Raya nearly gifted Sporting a goal with a woeful pass that was intercepted by Trincao, whose miscued attempt to find Luis Suarez in the penalty area let Arsenal off the hook.

Geny Catamo was inches away from punishing Arsenal’s lethargy when he volleyed against the far post from an acute angle just before half-time.

Eberechi Eze’s drive whistled narrowly wide after the interval, before Gabriel Martinelli blasted just over and Noni Madueke shot into the side-netting.

Arteta responded by sending on Kai Havertz for Gyokeres, while Max Dowman replaced the injured Madueke.

Sporting appealed in vain for a penalty after Cristhian Mosquera’s slight push on Maxi Araujo. Arsenal were creaking but they held firm as Arteta breathed a sigh of relief.

In Munich, late strikes from Luis Diaz and Michael Olise sealed a dramatic 4–3 win for Bayern Munich over Real Madrid on Wednesday, clinching a 6–4 aggregate victory and setting up a semifinal with holders Paris Saint-Germain.

The tie was level at the break in the second leg after a scintillating opening half, with record 15-time European champions Real going ahead three times on the night.

Bayern won 2-1 last week in the Spanish capital, but Arda Guler pounced on a loose Manuel Neuer pass to put the visitors ahead after just 34 seconds at the Allianz Arena. He scored again from a free-kick after Aleksandar Pavlovic equalised.

Harry Kane put Bayern back ahead in the tie only for Kylian Mbappe to restore parity overall when he put Madrid 3-2 up before half-time.

Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second yellow card with four minutes left and Bayern pushed forward, Diaz blasting into the corner from outside the box after a crucial deflection.

With Real pressing for an equaliser, Olise curled in a magnificent shot to rubberstamp Bayern’s ticket to the last four and keep alive their quest for a seventh European crown. They will head to Luis Enrique’s PSG at the end of the month.

Tempers boiled over after the final whistle with Guler picking up a straight red for confronting the referee.

“We got off to a bad start, and then conceded again through a free-kick and a counter. The first half was hectic,” Joshua Kimmich told DAZN.

“The second half was calmer, we had more control – and then managed to win it in the end. It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ll take the win.

“The two best teams in Europe will face each other. We had many top level games against Paris in recent years. I’m looking forward to it.”

The defeat for Real effectively ended their season as they look set to finish without a major trophy for the second year running. Barcelona hold a nine-point lead in La Liga and Real suffered a shock last-16 exit in the Copa del Rey.

“I feel for them (the players), for the effort they made. It hurts,” coach Alvaro Arbeloa told Movistar. “I’m very proud. We’re going back to Madrid after giving it our all.”

For the first time in Real’s long Champions League history, their starting XI did not contain a single Spanish player. Jude Bellingham, who impressed off the bench in the first leg, was one of four changes to the line-up made by Arbeloa.

Neuer, widely lauded after a vintage performance in Madrid, gifted Real an opener. The Bayern goalkeeper miscued a pass directly to Guler, who floated a first-touch shot into the unguarded goal in the first minute.

Bayern looked stunned but struck back almost immediately when Pavlovic headed in a Kimmich corner after Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to read the flight of the ball.

The match had barely time to settle before Real were ahead once more thanks to a Guler goal, with Neuer again not at his best.

The Turkey international whipped a free-kick into the top corner which Neuer got a hand to but was unable to keep out.

The match continued to swing back and forth before the break, as Kane struck first before Mbappe responded by getting himself on the scoresheet.

Kane slotted clinically into the bottom corner in the 38th minute to again haul Bayern level on the night — and ahead in the tie — before Mbappe ran onto a Vinicius Junior pass and slotted home to level the tie 4-4 on aggregate.

With Real regularly cutting into Bayern’s high line, coach Vincent Kompany responded by introducing the pace of Alphonso Davies at the interval.

Both sides traded chances in the second half, with Olise particularly dangerous, forcing a fingertip save from Lunin with 20 minutes left.

Camavinga came on midway through the half but picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to leave his team a man down in the closing stages.

It proved a turning point as Bayern struck three minutes later when Diaz’s effort took a touch off Eder Militao and flashed beyond Lunin.

Olise made certain of Bayern’s progress deep into stoppage time as the German giants took down Real in a knockout clash for the first time since 2012. (JapanToday)

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Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern and Atletico reach Champions League quarterfinals

Barcelona hit Newcastle United for seven to reach the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, while Liverpool overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Galatasaray in their last-16 tie and both Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid advanced to the next round.

Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski both scored twice as La Liga leaders Barcelona tore apart Newcastle at the Camp Nou, winning 7-2 in the second leg of their last-16 encounter to progress 8-3 on aggregate.

A spectacular match saw Anthony Elanga twice score for Newcastle inside the opening half-hour to cancel out goals by Raphinha and Marc Bernal.

However, the Catalans went back in front when Lamine Yamal converted a penalty deep in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-2 on the night, and they never looked back.

Fermin Lopez ran through for 4-2 early in the second half before Lewandowski added a quick-fire double either side of the hour mark, and Raphinha completed the scoring in the 72nd minute.

“The confidence that we got in the second half was good to see,” said Barca coach Hansi Flick.

It was a chastening defeat for Newcastle and just the third time since 1955 that an English team has conceded at least eight goals on aggregate in a European tie — one of the other occasions was this week, when Chelsea lost 8-2 on aggregate to Paris Saint-Germain.

“When the game was effectively over we didn’t react well to that, so it became a very difficult second half,” said Newcastle coach Eddie Howe.

It was also just the third time Barcelona have scored seven in a Champions League game, and Flick’s side can now look forward to an all-Spanish quarter-final next month against Atletico.

Diego Simeone’s men lost 3-2 on the night to Tottenham Hotspur in London, but progressed 7-5 on aggregate thanks to their 5-2 victory last week.

Randal Kolo Muani headed in on the half-hour to give Spurs the lead on the night and suggest a stunning comeback in the tie was possible.

A superb Julian Alvarez strike just after half-time doused the home side’s hopes, even if a fine Xavi Simons effort put Tottenham back in front.

David Hancko headed in Atletico’s second on the night, before Simons converted a last-minute penalty for his second of the game as Spurs rescued some pride by ending a run of eight matches without a win.

Liverpool were too good for Galatasaray, overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit against the Turkish side with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Anfield.

Arne Slot’s side went ahead on 25 minutes through a lovely first-time finish at a corner from Dominik Szoboszlai.

Mohamed Salah then had a poor penalty saved in first-half stoppage time, but the Egyptian made up for that in style after the break.

He laid on two goals in the space of three minutes, one for Hugo Ekitike and the other for Ryan Gravenberch.

Salah then scored the fourth himself just after the hour, curling a superb effort into the far corner from the edge of the area from a Florian Wirtz lay-off.

It was his 10th club goal this season was also his 50th in the Champions League, and it sealed a 4-1 aggregate victory which takes the Reds through to a quarterfinal against PSG.

That will be a repeat of a last-16 tie a year ago which PSG won on penalties — the French club have won four knockout ties against English opponents since the start of 2025.

“We could (have) won 10-0, but we did a good job. We can be proud,” said Ekitike.

Bayern’s progress against Atalanta was never in doubt after their 6-1 win in the first leg in Italy, and they followed that with a 4-1 success in Munich.

Harry Kane opened the scoring with a retaken first-half penalty — his initial effort had been saved — and then added a brilliant second on 54 minutes.

The brace took the Englishman to a half-century of Champions League goals, as he joined Salah and Thierry Henry on that overall mark — Kane has done it in 66 games compared to 97 for Salah.

Teenager Lennart Karl got Bayern’s third and Luis Diaz the fourth, with Lazar Samardzic pulling one back as the Germans progress 10-2 on aggregate — they now face Real Madrid in a heavyweight showdown.

“We don’t fear anyone,” Kane told DAZN when asked about the prospect of that tie. (JapanToday)

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“We lacked seriousness” – Tuchel criticises England “attitude”

Thomas Tuchel criticised England’s “attitude” and felt they “played with fire” in a narrow 1-0 World Cup qualifying win away to Andorra.

The Three Lions laboured against the world’s 173rd-ranked side in Barcelona, squeezing out a third successive win through captain Harry Kane’s 50th-minute strike to top Group K.

Tuchel’s men were jeered off the pitch at half-time and again at the end, leaving the England manager “not happy” with the disappointing display.

“I was most worried in the last 20 minutes because I did not like the attitude that we ended the game with,” said the German.

“I didn’t like the lack of urgency and it did not match the occasion – it is still a World Cup qualifier. We will let them know [on Sunday] what we want from them.

“I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier.

“I think we played with fire. I didn’t like the attitude in the end. I didn’t like the body language. It was not what the occasion needed.”

England dominated the ball with 83 per cent possession, but frustratingly could not break down Andorra’s well-organised defence and were mainly restricted to efforts from distance.

Kane slid home the winner from a Noni Madueke cross for his 72nd international goal, but the Three Lions had few clear-cut chances.

England next face Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on Tuesday and Tuchel expects a better performance.

“I think we started well in the first 20 or 25 minutes,” he added. “We created a lot of chances and half chances, and we lost completely the momentum and couldn’t get it back in the first half.

“Got a little bit [back] in the second half, but then ended up in a place that was not good enough in terms of urgency.

“We can just admit that, it’s not what we expect from us. We need to look at it in detail and do better on Tuesday.”

There were some mitigating circumstances for England’s lethargic display.

The match came at the end of a long domestic campaign for many of the players and was also played in hot and humid conditions in Barcelona – this fixture played there because Andorra’s national stadium was unavailable after the recent Games of the Small States of Europe.

But those watching clearly expected England to put in a more convincing performance against a side they had beaten six times previously by an aggregate score of 25-0.

“It looked like some of the players were bored in the last half an hour,” former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane told ITV.

“Go and get some more goals and impress the manager who is still new to the job.”

Ex-England defender Lee Dixon added: “They will be getting pelters no doubt about that.

“When you are fourth [in the rankings] and they are 173rd you expect to beat them handsomely, but that wasn’t the case.”

Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown agreed the performance was poor, but the priority was to get the job done in the bid for qualification to next year’s finals.

“It was a big disappointment but they did the job and won the game,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It could have been a lot more convincing in attacking positions. There is going to be criticism because of the team we were up against, but it is job done, move on to the next one.” (BBC)

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Bayern Munich win Bundesliga title to end Harry Kane’s trophy wait

Harry Kane ended his long wait for the first team trophy of his career as Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title – without playing – on Sunday.

Bayern’s celebrations were dramatically put on hold a day earlier when Yussef Poulsen scored a stoppage-time goal to earn RB Leipzig a 3-3 draw and make the leaders wait.

But Leverkusen, who had to win at Freiburg on Sunday to mathematically stay in the hunt, were held to a 2-2 draw that crowned the Bavarians this weekend after all.

Kane was forced to watch on against RB Leipzig after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season, moving to the touchline in expectation before Poulsen spoiled the party in the 94th minute.

But the 31-year-old England captain will be back for Saturday’s home game against Monchengladbach as Bayern can look forward to celebrating with their fans at the Allianz.

Kane has played a huge role in securing Bayern’s 34th league crown, topping the Bundesliga scoring charts with 24 goals, but in his 15th season as a pro – and two years after leaving boyhood club Tottenham – he has finally got his hands on silverware.

After 11 straight Bundesliga titles, Bayern fell short last season in Kane’s first year with the club, when invincible Bayer Leverkusen finished top. But Bayern have regained the championship this time with two rounds remaining.

Kane, who has lost Champions League and Carabao Cup finals at club level and twice lost European finals with England, has broken goal-scoring records in Germany but now has the team title he has craved.

Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, who won the Championship with Burnley in 2022/23, has claimed his first major honour as a manager, while Kane’s former England and Tottenham team-mate Eric Dier is also celebrating the first team trophy of his career. (SkySports)