Harry Kane watched from the bench as Bayern Munich breezed to a 4-0 victory over third-tier Preussen Munster in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel was not tempted to unleash Kane – who thumped a hat-trick in Saturday’s 7-0 Bundesliga win over Bochum – as three first-half goals proved more than enough for his side.
Languishing in 15th place in the German third tier, Munster nevertheless looked up for the fight and generated such a pre-match atmosphere that the kick-off was slightly delayed to allow firework smoke to clear.
But inevitably it was Bayern who proved to be the more explosive side on the pitch and it took them just eight minutes to grab the lead through Eric Choupo-Moting.
Mathys Tel’s persistence down the left flank paid off as he delivered a cross which the Cameroonian met with a twisting shot past home keeper Johannes Schenk.
It was not all good news in the early stages for Bayern, for whom Serge Gnabry was forced off shortly after the opener after appearing to fall awkwardly in an earlier challenge.
Jamal Musiala was playing havoc with the home defence but Schenk proved equal to number of Bayern chances, denying Choupo-Moting a second from close range in the 24th minute.
And Schenk saved his best for the 36th minute when he produced a brilliant save to deny a powerful header from Leon Goretzka as Bayern continued to threaten.
The visitors’ seemingly inevitable second duly arrived six minutes before the break when Goretzka turned provider, setting up Konrad Laimer for a looping header that beat the keeper.
Homegrown 20-year-old Frans Kratzig grabbed his first competitive goal for Bayern in first-half stoppage time with a neat effort through Schenk’s legs to make it 3-0.
Schenk denied Tel before Munster got a rare sight of the Bayern goal when Niko Koulis headed a half-chance well over the bar.
Although not tempted to unleash Kane on the Munster defence, Bayern boss took the opportunity to make a number of chances with his side easing through to the next round.
They continued to create a series of chances with Musiala jinking through the home rearguard before firing wide, and Choupo-Moting scuffing his chance to claim a second of the night in the Munster box.
The hosts came closest to getting on the scoresheet with 10 minutes remaining when lively substitute Joel Grodowski burst through the Bayern lines but his shot was comfortably dealt with by visiting keeper Daniel Peretz.
Teenager Tel deservedly got on the scoresheet five minutes from time when he fired home from a tight angle after being played through by Bouna Sarr, and Kingsley Coman crashed a shot against the bar as Bayern refused to ease up.
Ancelotti lauds Real Madrid goalscorer Vinicius after first-leg double
Carlo Ancelotti believes Vinicius Junior is constantly developing his attacking output, after the Real Madrid forward delivered again in the Champions League.
Vinicius scored twice as Madrid drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday.
Those strikes took Vinicius to 31 goal involvements (16 goals, 15 assists) in the Champions League since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, which is more than any other player in the competition in the same time period.
Vinicius' opener came when he cut inside and latched onto an exceptional pass from Toni Kroos, and Ancelotti pointed out how the Brazil international is beginning to change how he attacks.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Ancelotti said: "Vinicius is starting to understand how important it is for him to move inside the pitch and not only close to the line.
"He's learned really well how to move. It was a fantastic pass from Kroos but a fantastic run from Vinicius."
Reflecting on his team's performance, Ancelotti said: "It was an interesting game, an open game of course – as it has to be for a semi-final. I think we could play better, I don’t think we played our best and we had problems in the first half.
"We started to put pressure on in the second half to level the game – it was much better.
"We are comfortable with a low block but we didn’t play with intensity. With a low block you have to have intensity, you have to win duels, second balls. We were too low. We tried to change something.
"The game was difficult at 2-1 down, but then we had the energy and character to equalise – the second part of the second half was really good."
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
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