Lazio were unable to hold onto their slim advantage in Bavaria as Bayern Munich cruised to a 3-0 win in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.
The Biancocelesti pulled off a shock in their first meeting with Thomas Tuchel’s side in Rome last month, edging out a 1-0 win over the Bundesliga giants after a second half penalty from captain Ciro Immobile, giving them hope of progressing in Europe.
Since that match, neither Lazio nor Bayern have been in particularly strong form, with the former losing back-to-back matches to Fiorentina and Milan in their last two league matches and the latter failing to keep up with Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, slipping 10 points behind.
In a packed Allianz Stadium, Lazio knew it would be a long evening and Bayern wasted no time in taking control of the match, immediately putting themselves in the driving seat as they looked to overturn their 1-0 deficit.
The Bavarian outfit had a few early chances through Matthijs de Ligt, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala before their pressure ultimately proved overwhelming from Maurizio Sarri’s side in the closing stages of the first half.
In the 38th minute of the match, Aleksandar Pavlovic lofted a slick ball into a charging Thomas Muller, whose header kept the move alive. Raphael Guerreiro’s scuffed shot bounced into the path of Harry Kane, whose diving header just managed to creep under Ivan Provedel, giving Bayern a 1-0 lead.
In the closing stages of the first half, De Ligt perfectly caught a corner on the volley and blasted the ball towards Muller, whose header guided the ball into the back of the Lazio net, making it 2-0.
Lazio struggled to show much of note in the second half, clearly overwhelming by the pressure and general quality on display in the Allianz Arena, and it didn’t take long for Bayern to confirm their victory.
Just after the hour mark, a quick move from the hosts allowed Leroy Sane to fire a shot from just inside the penalty area towards Provedel, who did well to parry the ball away, but it landed straight in the path of Kane, who secured his second and Bayern’s third in the 66th minute.
Lazio were unable to muster up any response in the final 20 minutes of the match, falling to Bayern in a difficult 3-0 loss, ending their Champions League journey.
