Bayern get Inter in blockbuster UCL quarterfinal after straightforward wins
Harry Kane scored a goal and set up another as Bayern Munich won 2-0 at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals 5-0 on aggregate and set up a high-profile clash with Italian champions Inter Milan.
Inter strolled into the quarter-finals after seeing off Feyenoord 2-1 on Tuesday to go through 4-1 on aggregate.
A thumping early strike from Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu's 51st-minute penalty gave Inter comfortable passage to the last eight, although the away side did briefly look like making a game of it when Jakub Moder rattled in a penalty three minutes before the break.
Bayern were comfortable against last season's unbeaten German champions Leverkusen, having already done the damage with a dominant 3-0 win at home in the first leg.
With the match scoreless at half-time, Leverkusen rolled the dice in search of the goals they needed, but it was Bayern who struck, with Kane waltzing through to tap in a Joshua Kimmich cross early in the second period.
With Leverkusen again pushing forward, the visitors added a second in the 71st minute, Alphonso Davies slamming a clever Kane chip low and hard to double Bayern's lead.
Kane, so often criticised for going missing in big games and scoring against the minnows, was again commanding, as he had been when scoring a brace in Munich.
The England captain showed finesse and physicality as he kept Bayern on track for a dream home final and a chance to exorcise the ghosts of their 2012 Champions League final loss to Chelsea.
"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," Kane told Amazon Prime.
"It's never easy when you have a 3-0 lead. Psychologically, you know. But I think the way we went about it today was a top performance. To beat this team 5-0 over two legs shows the type of team we are."
Like Bayern, Inter were already comfortably ahead from their dominant first-leg display in Rotterdam, but Thuram made sure there would be no nasty surprises in the eighth minute.
The France forward received a ball from Carlos Augusto on the left flank and then charged towards goal, cutting inside onto his right foot and unleashing a ferocious shot against which Timon Wellenreuther could do nothing to stop.
That goal made it near impossible for Feyenoord, now led by former Netherlands striker Robin van Persie, whose team showed willing even with 11 players out of action through injury or suspension.
Hosts Inter could have easily won by more after missing a clutch of good chances, with Thuram drilling a great opportunity against the bar moments before being substituted to rapturous applause with 19 minutes remaining.
Inter lead Serie A and there is talk in Italy that Simone Inzaghi's team have a chance at repeating the league, Italian Cup and Champions League treble won by Jose Mourinho 15 years ago.
"It's not about believing or not believing (in the treble). When you're at Inter, you play every game to win. If you win every match, you'll do great things," said Thuram.