Gianluca Mancini headed home the winning goal in the Derby della Capitale as Roma defeated rivals Lazio 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

In a typically tight affair, Mancini’s 42nd-minute header proved the difference between the two sides as Daniele De Rossi won his first Rome derby as a coach.

Daichi Kamada did have the ball in the net for Lazio but the Japanese international was in an offside position from Matteo Guendouzi’s defence-splitting pass.

While Lazio failed to bounce back from the Coppa Italia semi-final defeat to Juventus, Roma consolidated their grip on fifth in Serie A.

De Rossi’s side started the game on the front foot, winning a corner inside the first minute, with Leandro Paredes’s drive an early warning for Lazio.

Lazio captain Ciro Immobile had an early sight of goal for the Biancocelesti when they won the ball high up the pitch and Immobile struck a right footed effort into the side netting.

At the other end, a Roma free-kick landed at an unmarked Diego Llorente, who saw two half-volleys blocked, the second of which bounced just wide of a post.

Lorenzo Pellegrini, back in the Roma team after suspension, then tested goalkeeper Christos Mandas with a long-range effort, and the Giallorossi spurned another opportunity when Zeki Celik headed over from close range.

Roma's goal did arrive before half-time, though – Mancini powering a header beyond the despairing reach of Christos Mandas.

After the break, Pellegrini narrowly curled wide a free kick before Romelu Lukaku surged forward and played in Stephan El Shaarawy, who smashed the woodwork.  

Lukaku almost tapped in from Bryan Cristante’s centre, before Kamada saw what he thought was an equaliser disallowed for offside.

Tensions heated up between both sets of players with an altercation between Guendouzi and Paulo Dybala sparking the fire, but Roma ultimately kept their discipline to hold off late Lazio pressure and further their hopes of Champions League qualification.

De Rossi's Roma resurgence continues

Roma stretched their unbeaten run to seven league matches to keep their Champions League ambitions alive.

Roma dominated possession throughout the match and midfielder Pellegrini was a welcome return to the midfield, though striker Lukaku was rarely involved with just eight touches in the first half.

The Giallorossi did manage their breakthrough after neat intricate play earned a corner and Dybala’s delivery was met by Mancini, for his fourth league goal of the season.

They could not build on the dominant first half after the break, showing a different side of their game to limit Lazio to few clear-cut chances.

Lazio's European hopes fading

Lazio’s four-match unbeaten streak against their rivals in the 183rd edition of this derby came to an end.

They have now lost six of their last seven matches in all competitions and sit four points off European qualification.

They offered little in the first half, with no shots on target as Roma dominated proceedings and they have still not won a Serie A match when behind at the break.

Coach Igor Tudor made three changes at half-time, including taking off Immobile, and Lazio managed to push Roma deeper into their own half, but Mile Svilar remained largely untested. 

An investigation has been launched after Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg victory over Lazio.

McKennie played his part in Juve’s 2-0 win after he set up Dusan Vlahovic for the club’s second goal of the last-four clash.

The United States international was substituted in the 89th minute and footage on social media appeared to show McKennie being targeted with racist chants by a section of fans at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus has now confirmed they are looking into the incident of alleged racism, which they state came from visiting supporters inside the stadium.

“Juventus Football Club takes note of the video circulated on social networks and reported by some media from which it would emerge the intonation of discriminatory chants coming from the visiting sector and directed at Weston McKennie during his substitution in the Juventus-Lazio semi-final first leg of the Italian Cup, played on 2 April,” a club statement read.

“Following confirmation of the incident by the player, the club communicates that it has activated all procedures aimed at verifying what happened and will fully cooperate in order to identify the persons responsible and, consequently, take all necessary measures in this regard.”

Juventus kept alive their hopes of silverware this season with a 2-0 first-leg win in their Coppa Italia semi-final against Lazio.

Front two Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic scored in the early part of the second half to break open a previously underwhelming encounter at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

The two sides also met in Serie A on Saturday, Lazio winning that game 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal from Adam Marusic, but Massimiliano Allegri’s side successfully turned the tables as he chases a record fifth Coppa Italia as coach to break a tie with Roberto Mancini and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Lazio lost Mattia Zaccagni to injury just 10 minutes in after he was caught by Federico Gatti – and were grateful things did not get worse even before substitute Gustav Isaksen was able to enter the pitch.

Matias Vecino was harshly penalised after catching Andrea Cambiaso in his own area, the Juventus player leaping across him as he cleared the ball, but VAR overruled the penalty decision due to Cambiaso being offside when Vlahovic headed towards goal.

Isaksen saw one long-range effort blocked and another deflected behind by Danilo for a corner and Felipe Anderson ripped a 25-yard drive well over.

Cambiaso failed to control a deft return ball from Chiesa, costing Juve one of their few clear sights of goal in the first half, and they will be without defender Gatti for April 23’s return leg due to suspension after he was booked for a foul on Isaksen.

Luis Alberto headed Patric’s cross against the bar, with keeper Mattia Perin a touch uncertain under the looping ball, and Adrien Rabiot’s powerful 20-yard volley was straight at Christos Mandas in the Lazio goal as the half ended scoreless.

Nicolo Casale replaced Patric at half-time but the visitors soon fell behind when Manuel Locatelli did well to keep the ball alive and Cambiaso’s brilliant long pass cut the Lazio midfield and defence out of the game for Chiesa to finish clinically.

Locatelli blasted just wide after a rapid break, though a free-kick was given against Chiesa in any case, but Vlahovic soon made it 2-0 after turning Casale inside out.

Gatti headed just wide from Filip Kostic’s corner, conceded by Casale’s excellent tackle as Chiesa appealed in vain for a penalty, before Lazio boss Igor Tudor sought to change things with the introductions of Taty Castellanos and Daichi Kamada.

Juve substitutes Kenan Yildiz and Timothy Weah combined with Vlahovic to create a chance that was snuffed out by Mandas and Yildiz fired an ambitious effort well wide in the closing stages.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is backing his players as they attempt to bring a difficult season to a satisfactory conclusion.

Saturday’s 1-0 Serie A defeat at Lazio left Juve 17 points behind runaway leaders Inter Milan, who entertain lowly Empoli on Monday evening, and knowing they now have only Champions League qualification and the prospect of Coppa Italia glory for which to play.

They will attempt to take a step towards the latter on Tuesday evening when they face the Rome club for the second time in four days, this time on home turf at the Allianz Stadium in the first leg of the domestic cup semi-final, with either Fiorentina or Atalanta awaiting the winners.

Allegri told a press conference: “The guys must have confidence in themselves. They’re a great group who always give their all on the pitch.

“We have to keep working because we still have two important objectives to aim for in securing Champions League qualification and the Coppa Italia.

“I have nothing to criticise the boys for, we just have to get through this period.”

The 14-times winners head into the game in indifferent form, with Adam Marusic’s stoppage-time strike at the Stadio Olimpico at the weekend extending their league run to just one win in nine games.

With second-placed AC Milan six points ahead of Allegri’s men in third and just two separating them from Bologna in fourth, the pressure is on in the race for Champions League qualification.

In the circumstances, the prospect of reaching a domestic cup final may provide a welcome distraction.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny said: “It’s a bad period in which you realise that everybody needs to give more for Juventus.

“We really have a lot of desire to do well, but the results aren’t coming at the moment. We know that we haven’t done well enough in the last two months and what is needed to achieve our goals.

“The Coppa Italia is a trophy that we can still win and Champions League qualification is very important for us and it’s up to us to seal it.”

Lazio’s win at the weekend, which kept them in touch with the top six, was their second in succession after a run of four successive defeats in all competitions, including a Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich, and they will be keen to keep the momentum going under new boss Igor Tudor.

They have lifted the trophy on seven occasions, most recently in 2019, but will be without goalkeeper Ivan Provedel under concussion protocols.

Allegri has Filip Kostic available after illness, while Alex Sandro and Carlos Alcaraz have returned to training following injury lay-offs, but Arkadiusz Milik is still out.

Lazio scored a dramatic late winner to seal a deserved 1-0 victory over out-of-sorts Juventus at Stadio Olimpico.

Adam Marusic netted three minutes into stoppage time as Lazio claimed both the three points and also strike a psychological blow ahead of Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg between the two teams in Turin.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve, who have now won just once in their last nine matches, had another day to forget, failing to find their attacking rhythm as they found themselves under the cosh for much of the game.

That did not look like being the case early on as the third-placed Bianconeri started the better of the two sides, with Federico Chiesa looking lively. The Italy international used his pace to get into a dangerous area before his whipped cross was headed narrowly wide by centre-back Bremer.

Felipe Anderson was Lazio’s main outlet during the opening exchanges and he fashioned a chance for Taty Castellanos after beating four Juve players before unselfishly picking out his team-mate, but the Argentinian fired wide from inside the box.

The combination of Castellanos and Anderson continued to threaten a Juve side looking for points to seal a Champions League spot, but again Lazio failed to make the most of their chances with Castellanos missing the target again.

Lazio’s lack of cutting edge continued after a mix-up at the back between Juve centre-back Daniele Rugani and Wojciech Szczesny. The Poland goalkeeper found himself in trouble following a back pass by his defender but after a scramble in the box, Juve managed to clear and save their blushes.

A stellar defensive performance from Bremer continued into the second half as the visitors fought to keep Lazio’s attacking threats under control.

Ciro Immobile combined with Marusic inside the area but the resolute Brazilian blocked the ball, getting a crucial touch on the shot to turn it wide as the game remained goalless.

Lazio coach Giovanni Martusciello turned to his bench in one last attempt to break the deadlock, sending on Spanish forward Luis Alberto in a bid to inject some attacking life into a cagey affair in Rome.

And the home side were rewarded for their efforts in stoppage time when wing-back Marusic rose highest to head in the winner.

Juventus’ Serie A title challenge may well be over for another year but coach Massimiliano Allegri is still looking for a strong finish to the season.

The Turin giants last claimed the scudetto in 2020 but their hopes of ending that run this campaign have all-but disappeared after winning just one of their last eight games.

That means the third-placed Bianconeri will go into this weekend’s trip to Lazio a massive 17 points behind runaway leaders Inter Milan with only nine league games left.

However, with a top-four spot yet to be secured and the Coppa Italia up for grabs – Juve face Lazio in the first leg of their semi-final next Tuesday – Allegri’s men still have plenty to play for as action resumes after the international break.

Allegri told a press conference: “The players who have returned from international duty are well, and those who stayed with us worked a lot on the pitch.

“Now we’re all ready for that final push to the finish line, we have 55 days to take us to the end of the season.

“The most important thing for us now is that we’re all focused on the end of the season.

“We’ve dropped a lot of points and we have to be realistic. In the second half of the season we’ve only picked up 13 points, and now we have 27 to play for to consolidate our place in the Champions League spots.

“Then there’s the Italian Cup, and on Tuesday we have another important game against Lazio hoping to stay in the fight for silverware. We have to think about that too.”

Allegri, who said Italy forward Moise Kean will start against Lazio as he looks to push his Euro 2024 claims, is set to take charge of his 500th Serie A match this weekend.

The 56-year-old former AC Milan and Cagliari coach said: “I’m pleased to have reached 500 games in charge, and it’s evidence of my desire, passion and love for the job and this sport. I want to have fun still and I love being out on the pitch.”

Maurizio Sarri has resigned as Lazio head coach, with Giovanni Martusciello appointed interim boss.

Former Chelsea boss Sarri took charge of the Rome club in 2021 and guided them to the runners-up spot in Serie A last season – their highest placing since they won the title in 2000.

But after four straight defeats in all competitions and five losses in their last six games, the 65-year-old has stepped down.

“SS Lazio announces that Maurizio Sarri has resigned as head coach of the first team,” a Lazio statement read.

“The club would like to thank the coach for his achievements and for the work he has done, wishing him the best of luck in his personal and professional life.

“At the same time, the club announces that it has decided to entrust the technical guidance to Giovanni Martusciello.”

Speculation over Sarri’s future had been mounting during Lazio’s poor recent run, which has left them in ninth place the the table, and in a statement last week the club said “all the rumours that would link other coaches to S.S. Lazio are devoid of any foundation”.

Sarri won the Europa League with Chelsea during his one season in charge of the English club in 2018-19 and also led them to third in the Premier League and the League Cup final.

He steered Juventus to the Serie A title in 2019-20 and twice oversaw second-placed finishes for Napoli during his three years in charge of them.

Harry Kane fired Bayern Munich into the quarter-finals of the Champions League as the German side overturned a first-leg deficit against Lazio with a 3-0 win at the Allianz Arena.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Rome, Bayern were kept out until Kane headed home from close range – his 50th goal in European competition.

Thomas Muller doubled the lead on the night with another header seconds before the break as Matthijs de Ligt’s volley flashed across the six-yard area.

Lazio’s best chance had fallen to Ciro Immobile, their spot-kick scorer from the first game, just moments before Kane had levelled the tie.

But Immobile planted his header wide from six yards when it appeared easier to score.

Bayern sealed their progress into the last eight of a competition they have won six times after 66 minutes.

Leroy Sane’s shot was parried into the path of Kane, who had to adjust his feet sharply to score his second on the night and 33rd Bayern goal in as many appearances.

Kylian Mbappe’s brace saw Paris St Germain cruise into the quarter-finals, with a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad completing a 4-1 aggregate victory.

With a 2-0 lead in their pocket from the first leg, PSG were comfortable throughout.

Mbappe, the top scorer across Europe’s top five leagues so far this season, offered an early warning sign when he turned a shot narrowly over the bar from Fabian Ruiz’s cut-back in the fifth minute.

PSG were the dominant force and went ahead after 15 minutes through Mbappe’s fifth Champions League goal of the season, bending the ball across goal and inside the far post.

Mbappe punished Sociedad again 11 minutes into the second half, bursting on to Lee Kang-in’s through ball and whipping the ball in majestically at the near post. Mikel Merino scored a consolation for Sociedad a minute from time.

Harry Kane reached his half-century of European goals with an Allianz Arena double as Bayern Munich turned around their Champions League tie against Lazio to reach the last eight of the competition.

Kane scored twice and Thomas Muller added another to overturn Lazio’s first-leg lead in style and give Bayern a comfortable 3-0 victory in Bavaria.

Lazio’s resistance lasted 38 minutes, but there was only one outcome after Kane levelled the tie on aggregate with his 50th goal in European competition.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel sprang a surprise before kick-off by preferring England defender Eric Dier at centre-back to big-money summer purchase Kim Min-jae.

Lazio were aiming to reach a Champions League quarter-final for the first time since 2000 and had the first sight of goal inside five minutes, Matteo Guendouzi firing wide after being set up by Felipe Anderson.

But the pattern of the game was soon set as Bayern dominated possession, territory and chances before an expectant home crowd.

Leroy Sane shot straight at Ivan Provedel in the Lazio goal and Mario Gila stayed alert to block Jamal Musiala from 12 yards.

Provedel batted away Musiala’s firm effort and Gila was in the right place to deflect Kane’s effort wide.

Lazio bodies got in the way again to deny Musiala and Raphael Guerreiro, and Dier headed over Joshua Kimmich’s cross.

It had been one-way traffic for over half-an-hour, but Lazio should have doubled their aggregate lead eight minutes before the break.

Matthijs de Ligt inadvertently flicked Mattia Zaccagni’s cross into the path of Ciro Immobile but the Italy striker planted his header wide from six yards.

It was to prove a very costly miss as Kane instantly punished the Italians.

Muller headed down into a crowded goalmouth, Guerreiro’s mishit effort bounced into the ground, and Kane reacted first with a stooping header that Provedel got in the way of but could not stop.

Musiala sent a close-range opportunity wide and Bayern seized the lead in the tie for the first time in the second minute of stoppage time.

Immobile hoped he had diverted Guerreiro’s corner out of danger, but De Ligt sent back a ferocious volley which Muller headed home from inside the six-yard box.

Lazio had a penalty claim when Immobile went down under De Ligt’s challenge at the start of the second half.

But the Dutch defender appeared to make contact with the ball and normal order was quickly restored as Lazio hopes faded once and for all.

Provedel pushed out Sane’s shot and England captain Kane adjusted his feet sharply to plunder the rebound for his 33rd goal in as many Bayern games.

Muller hit a post as Bayern sought to add extra gloss, but their passage into the last eight had been confirmed long before the final whistle.

Thomas Tuchel is not contemplating whether Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Lazio could be his last in charge of Bayern Munich.

It was announced last month that Tuchel would leave Bayern at the end of the season, but speculation over his future continues after Bayer Leverkusen opened up a 10-point lead at the Bundesliga summit over the weekend.

Bayern go into Tuesday’s last-16 second leg trailing 1-0 from the first meeting in Rome and failure to progress would further increase the scrutiny on their German boss.

Asked if it could be a knock-out game for him, Tuchel told a press conference: “Not from my side. Maybe from other sides but what we did discuss and decided is what we communicated on.

“I think there is no one else that wants to win this game more than myself.”

Given Leverkusen’s healthy advantage in the title race, the Champions League appears Bayern’s most likely chance to win silverware this season.

Ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel acknowledged the importance of this fixture, but hopes it can inspire his out-of-form team, who dropped two more points at Freiburg on Friday.

“I think everyone is aware that it is important and obviously in a situation like that, a certain amount of pressure is to be expected,” Tuchel admitted.

“With the first-leg result, it is not going to be super easy. The pressure is normal and the pressure is needed to bring special performances.

“Obviously the situation is clear. We need to win with two goals more against an Italian team, against a (Maurizio) Sarri team.

“It is about what we can bring to the pitch and the fans are there to support us from the first minute to hopefully create a specific atmosphere that could lead us to win with two goals.”

Bayern will be boosted by the return of Matthijs de Ligt, who missed the 2-2 draw at Freiburg due to a one-match ban.

Dutch defender De Ligt has struggled with a knee injury this season but urged his team-mates to stick together during a difficult period and admitted they must take responsibility for Tuchel’s imminent exit this summer.

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De Ligt added: “We players are responsible. We do everything together. When the coach has to go, then we also have to say we didn’t do well.

“We’re in this spell together and have to come out of it together. That’s why tomorrow is an hugely important game.

“Tomorrow is very important for us, for the whole club. We’re in a tough spot in the Bundesliga. The Champions League is also very important for us. We need to be ready.

“If you reach the quarter-finals, it’s good for the whole season, gives you energy. That’s why it’s a very important game for us.”

Lazio had three players sent off as Noah Okafor’s late goal secured a 1-0 win for AC Milan in a chaotic match at the Stadio Olimpico.

Milan grabbed their first win in four matches, a run which has seen their already faint hopes of a title challenge completely fade away, when substitute Okafor finally broke the deadlock three minutes from time.

The match turned in their favour when Lazio’s Luca Pellegrini needlessly got himself sent off with over half an hour still to play.

Lazio lost their heads in stoppage time and finished with eight men after Adam Marusic and Matteo Guendouzi were also dismissed.

Lazio, who travel to Bayern Munich on Tuesday looking to protect their 1-0 lead from the first leg of their Champions League clash, were inches away from taking the lead after 10 minutes.

Felipe Anderson flicked on a Luis Alberto corner and Matias Vecino prodded the ball narrowly wide of the far post.

They were denied a penalty moments later when Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan took a poor touch from a backpass and then wiped out Valentin Castellanos with his follow through, but nothing was given either on the field or in the VAR room.

Milan’s first chance arrived when former Roma right-back Alessandro Florenzi crossed for Olivier Giroud, but the Frenchman’s header was off target.

Giroud should have put the visitors ahead in first-half stoppage time after Christian Pulisic’s drive was pushed over the crossbar by Ivan Provedel.

Theo Hernandez swung in the corner, but Giroud’s header at the far post flew harmlessly over.

Lazio were reduced 10 men just before the hour when Pellegrini, who had been booked seven minutes earlier for a foul on Pulisic, was sent off for blatantly pulling back the former Chelsea man.

Moments later, Giroud played a one-two with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but he could only hit his shot straight at Provedel.

Provedel showed great reactions to get a hand to a Loftus-Cheek volley, before the 10 men had a golden chance to go ahead when substitute Ciro Immobile somehow missed the target from four yards out.

Milan thought they had taken the lead with 13 minutes remaining when Rafael Leao fired home from a tight angle, but a lengthy VAR check ruled the effort out for offside.

The goal came after Provedel made another fine one-handed save to keep out Okafor’s initial drive.

But Lazio could not clear the loose ball and when it fell to Okafor again, the Switzerland international forward lashed it into the net.

The match ended in a farce with both Marusic and Guendouzi sent off at the death as Milan held on for a hard-earned victory.

Stefano Pioli called for his AC Milan side to be more “cynical” in front of goal ahead of their Serie A trip to Lazio as they look to turn the heat up on second-placed Juventus.

Milan were held to a 1-1 home draw by Atalanta in their last fixture – having lost to Monza and Rennes in their previous two matches – leaving them four points behind Juve in the Serie A standings and just five ahead of in-form Bologna in fourth pace.

The Rossoneri will now be eager to get back to winning ways against Lazio on Friday and coach Pioli wants his side’s performance to be consistent, calling for additional cutting edge up front.

“We want to produce the same performance as last week whilst aiming for a different result,” Pioli said on his club’s website.

“We analysed the positives after Atalanta but also tried to understand why we couldn’t score one more than them because we had the chance to. We need to be more cynical”.

Lazio have lost three of their last five Serie A matches, winning the other two, and will also be keen to get back on track after surrendering a half-time lead to lose 2-1 at Fiorentina last time out.

That was the second time in three matches Lazio have ended up empty-handing after taking the lead, and left them eighth in the table, eight points off the top four.

Pioli believes Maurizio Sarri’s “motivated” team will bring the fight to them at the Stadio Olimpico, where Lazio are playing only their second home match in six league outings.

Pioli also ruled out resting any of his players ahead of next week’s Europa League last-16 first leg at home to Sparta Prague.

“They (Lazio) are a team with great quality that comes off the back of an unsatisfactory performance,” said Pioli.

“They will be motivated but can also be thrown off by playing with intensity. The game against Slavia Prague will be very important, we are studying them but are fully focused on Lazio.

“Then we will have an almost full week, there won’t be changes in Rome in order to rest players. I believe that both sides will try to play with different ideas. The midfield battles will be very important”.

While Milan will still hold hope of overhauling Juve in second spot, Pioli concedes that city rivals Inter are unlikely to be caught by any team.

Runaway leaders Inter sit 12 points at the top of the table having won 22 of their 26 matches this season, losing just once and conceding only 12 goals.

Pioli said: “I think that the top spot in the league is decided, Inter are recording incredible numbers as Napoli did last year.

“April 21 (Milan derby) is too far away. We have a big game ahead of us and there are various goals to meet before we think about the derby.”

Ciro Immobile’s second-half penalty earned Lazio a shock 1-0 first-leg win over 10-man Bayern Munich in the Champions League last-16.

Striker Immobile sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from 12 yards in the 69th minute after Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano was sent off for a late challenge on Gustav Isaksen.

The Bundesliga side, who arrived in Rome on the back of a damaging 3-0 defeat to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen, dominated first-half possession but were unable to capitalise, with Harry Kane largely starved of service.

Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala each went close for the six-time European champions before Immobile’s spot-kick settled the contest to increase pressure on Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel.

Kylian Mbappe set Paris St Germain on course for a 2-0 success over Real Sociedad in Wednesday’s other tie.

The France star opened the scoring in the 58th minute at Parc des Princes by volleying home Marquinhos’ flick on following Ousmane Dembele’s right-wing corner.

Bradley Barcola secured breathing space for the Ligue 1 leaders ahead of the return match on March 5 with his first Champions League goal.

The 21-year-old forward burst past Hamari Traore on the PSG left before poking the ball beyond Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro with 20 minutes remaining.

Harry Kane made little impact as Bayern Munich’s week went from bad to worse following a shock 1-0 loss in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Lazio.

Ciro Immobile’s second-half penalty proved the difference at Stadio Olimpico to pile pressure on Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel on the back of a damaging 3-0 defeat at title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.

England captain Kane, who is one short of reaching 50 club goals in European competition, barely touched the ball during a tight battle between two former Chelsea managers in the Italian capital.

His side dominated possession before Maurizio Sarri’s men snatched a slender aggregate advantage when Immobile sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from 12 yards in the 69th minute after Dayot Upamecano was dismissed for a late challenge on Gustav Isaksen.

Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala went closest for the German club, who have plenty to do in the return match at Allianz Arena on March 5.

Bayern arrived in Rome having fallen five points off the pace in the Bundesliga following Saturday’s emphatic loss at Leverkusen.

Under-fire boss Tuchel made three personnel changes in a bid to bounce back, including dropping Eric Dier and recalling Germany internationals Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller.

Kimmich curled wide in the opening exchanges before Kane could not keep a close-range effort down following Muller’s pull back, while Luis Alberto lashed over from distance for the side sitting seventh in Serie A.

Former Manchester City forward Sane went close when his 32nd-minute effort whistled past the left post after Leon Goretzka and Muller shifted the angle of a free-kick on the edge of the D.

Musiala then fired over following impressive build-up play as the away side failed to register an attempt on target before the break.

Bayern beat Lazio 6-2 on aggregate as reigning champions at the same stage of the tournament in 2020-21 and were heavy favourites to repeat that feat.

Yet, having been relatively untested defensively, the visitors nearly conceded within three minutes of the restart.

Danish forward Isaksen was sent clear on goal after Bayern centre-back Upamecano was dispossessed by former Liverpool man Alberto, only for his low effort to be repelled by the legs of Neuer.

The six-time European champions were struggling to regain the upper hand and felt aggrieved to fall behind 21 minutes from time during a pivotal moment in the match.

French referee Francois Letexier pointed to the spot and brandished a red card after Upamecano caught Isaksen with his studs inside the box.

Bayern were unhappy with the decision but that did not stop Immobile – fresh from scoring his 200th Serie A goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Cagliari – calmly rolling home into the bottom right corner.

Former Tottenham striker Kane saw a long-rang free-kick deflected over as below-par Bayern sought a leveller.

Yet the surprise result could have been worse.

Felipe Anderson and substitute Pedro each went close to doubling Lazio’s lead late on, with Tuchel given plenty to ponder.

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has defended “p****d off” Thomas Muller’s right to deliver a withering assessment of his team after their Bundesliga title hopes suffered a major setback.

Bayern, who have won the league for the last 11 seasons, were beaten 3-0 at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as the hosts opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table, prompting 34-year-old Germany international Muller to reveal he was “p****d off” at their lack of “energy and freedom” in an explosive post-match interview.

However, speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League last-16 clash with Lazio, Tuchel said: “I think he pretty much hit the nail on the head – and if anybody is allowed to issue a statement like that, it is Thomas.”

Tuchel, who admitted his players are currently struggling to transfer their quality in training into games, added: “Thomas is allowed to say this to the microphones because he’s also going to address it internally.

“And it’s important that the team internally talks about it because when we wake up tomorrow and look out of the window and see Rome, you know it’s a different competition and a new day.

“Even though Bayern Munich loses, the sun will rise again, even though you won’t believe it. We will allow ourselves to really be happy and to try to win. That’s part of the game.”

Tuchel finds himself under pressure heading into the game, but is adamant he will not allow it to distract him.

He said: “No, I don’t feel any increasing pressure. Pressure as such is a privilege, it’s a sporting pressure. I’ve never felt it differently and it hasn’t changed anything.

“It’s important to stay self-confident, to stay self-critical.

“The stronger the noise is around the game and the stronger the pressure gets, it’s more important to stay calm. Nothing will change.”

Lazio will hope to inflict further misery on the 2020 winners, and striker Ciro Immobile is relishing the chance to go head-to-head with Bayern’s 28-goal England striker Harry Kane.

Italy international Immobile told a press conference: “Numbers are important for a striker.

“Being able to compare myself with top-level players like Harry Kane is a big motivation for me. It allows me to understand the level I have reached in my career.

“But tomorrow it’s not a direct match with Kane that matters but the match between Lazio and Bayern.”

The Serie A side returned to form on on Saturday when they won 3-1 at Cagliari, in the process ending a run of three games without a victory, but they remain in eighth place in the table and a full 23 points adrift of leaders Inter Milan.

However, head coach Maurizio Sarri said: “We must not forget that we play to have fun. We need to rediscover the sense of fun on the pitch despite all the responsibilities we have to assume.

“If the child who loved playing football dies, the man also has less fun.”