Tag: Harry Kane

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

“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)

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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)