England captain Harry Kane scored his 40th and 41st goals of the season in all competitions as Bayern Munich won a pulsating tie with Flamengo to reach the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.
Brazilians Flamengo had gone into the game on an 11-match unbeaten run but fell behind inside six minutes when Chilean midfielder Erick Pulgar diverted Joshua Kimmich’s corner into his own net via the inside of the far post.
It was 2-0 just three minutes later, Kane rifling home a fierce low drive – via a slight deflection off Leo Ortiz – after Dayot Upamecano had dispossessed Giorgian de Arrascaeta inside the Flamengo half.
Gerson beat Manuel Neuer with a rasping strike to give Flamengo hope 12 minutes before half-time, but Leon Goretzka restored Bayern’s two-goal advantage with a long-range effort that appeared to wrongfoot goalkeeper Agustin Rossi on its way in.
Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho sent Neuer the wrong way from the penalty spot after Michael Olise had handled De Arrascaeta’s shot inside the box early in the second half, but another clinical Kane finish completed the scoring with 18 minutes remaining.
Bayern will face European champions Paris St-Germain in Saturday’s quarter-final.
What was the main talking point?
England captain Kane has now broken the 40-goal barrier in successive seasons for the first time, having ended the 2023-24 campaign on 44 in all competitions.
The 31-year-old was one of seven changes made by manager Vincent Kompany after Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat to Benfica and the Bundesliga champions certainly started the game with an extra spring in their step.
Both these teams are known for their high press but Flamengo -who also made six changes on Sunday – found Bayern’s intensity just too much in the early stages as the German ide, spearheaded by Kane, pinned back their opponents.
Bayern refused to take their foot off the gas after Pulgar’s early own goal and soon doubled their advantage through Kane, who netted his third goal of the tournament in the second half to clinch his team’s place in the last eight.
Who stood out and who did not?
Both teams had chances in an absorbing contest, but in the end it was Kane’s finishing that proved the difference in Miami.
His second of the game – a composed finish from Kimmich’s pass – all but ended Flamengo’s hopes of getting back into the match after Jorginho’s trademark penalty had cut the advantage for a second time.
Sunday’s game was one to forget for midfielder Pulgar, however.
After his own goal, the Chilean hurt himself in a rash first-half challenge on Kane – which earned him a yellow card – and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
[BBC]