Kane helps Bayern ease past Leverkusen into Champions League quarters
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LEVERKUSEN, Germany :Bayern Munich's Harry Kane scored one goal and set up another as his side beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in the Champions League last-16 second leg on Tuesday to advance with a 5-0 aggregate win to the last eight where they face Inter Milan next month.
Kane, who netted twice in last week's 3-0 first leg win, tapped home from close range in the 52nd minute for a 10th Champions League goal that made him the first English player to score 10 times in a single European Cup season.
The England striker then delivered a one-touch pinpoint assist for Alphonso Davies to score the second goal in the 71st.
"A really good performance," Kane said. "From the first minute, we didn’t want to be a team who dropped off and defended the lead. We wanted to be on the front foot, put pressure on, and create chances to win the game.
"We did that in the first half and had the better chances. Then, second half, we knew they had to come out and try something and we punished them," said the forward.
In the fifth clash of the two teams this season, Bayern got off to a stronger start and had two early chances through Kane.
With a 3-0 first leg deficit to overcome, it was Leverkusen who had to go forward but they were badly missing the creativity and tempo of injured midfielder Florian Wirtz.
They did come close through Patrik Schick's' header late in the first half though.
Bayern, eliminated in the German Cup by Leverkusen this season, kept the hosts on the backfoot and Michael Olise's deflected shot narrowly missed the target three minutes after the restart.
Kane did it better, tapping in a Joshua Kimmich cross after sloppy defending from Schick, to put the visitors in front and the tie to bed.
Leverkusen, who have now lost their last three matches across all competitions, were toothless for most of the game and only got their first shot on target in the 62nd minute.
It came as no surprise when Bayern struck again, this time with Davies drilling in from a Kane assist nine minutes later.
Bayern, who also lead the Bundesliga title race with an eight-point gap over second-placed reigning champions Leverkusen, had several late chances to add to their tally.
Kane fired wide with only goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky to beat and Jamal Musiala rattled the crossbar in the 81st. The 22-year-old also hit the post with a shot five minutes later.
Bayern's next opponents Inter, who are top of Serie A, last lifted the trophy in 2010, beating the Bavarians in the final in a treble-winning season which they are on course to repeat.
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