Gareth Southgate says he is facing a “complicated” Euro 2024 selection choice given England’s potential fitness and availability issues heading into the summer.

This is the first time since the 2018 World Cup that the 57-cap former defender is having to pick a 23-man squad for a major tournament after it was expanded to 26 following the coronavirus pandemic.

But Southgate could name even more than that at the provisional squad announcement on May 21 as the England boss will have injury concerns to deal with and the late arrival of key players.

The final squad is not due to be submitted to UEFA until June 8, but some may not even have joined up with the team by that point due to cup finals, denting numbers for the warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland.

Asked how many extra headaches returning to a 23-man squad will throw up given the issues he is juggling, Southgate said: “Yeah, it’s going to be complicated, because firstly the injury situations that we have.

“Some will be back playing at the weekend, some will be back playing in a couple of weeks, some will be really close to the end of the season.

“Then we’re going to have the European finals, the FA Cup final and the two friendlies that we’ve got ourselves.

“It’s inevitable we’re going to be naming a longer squad, which is what we did before the Euros here even though we were dealing with 26 then.

“We really don’t know (how many will be in the provisional squad) because there are so many questions on the injuries at the moment.

“But we’ve gained valuable information about so many players this this week.”

Absentee-hit England suffered their first defeat in 15 months in Saturday’s late 1-0 loss Brazil at Wembley, where Jude Bellingham scored an even later goal to salvage a 2-2 draw against Belgium three days later.

Southgate had to experiment far more than he expected during the friendly double-header due an unprecedented injury list that left him without a third of the 40-odd players on his long list against Brazil.

Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Sam Johnstone all withdrew from the squad over the course of the camp, with Jordan Henderson unable to feature in either match.

“I had a plan on Saturday night for Tuesday that got blown apart in 12 hours, so to have a plan for something in two and a half months’ time at the moment is faintly ridiculous.” Southgate said.

“We know some of the core parts of that, we know who’s been able to play at that level, who our very best players are.

“And the rest, we’ve got a lot clearer picture of what people are capable of from the two games that we’ve played.

“We’re just going to see how people are when they come back into form, whether they can do that fitness-wise with their clubs.”

Anthony Gordon, Ezri Konsa and Kobbie Mainoo all made their debuts over recent days, with Ivan Toney registering his first goal – from the penalty spot – against Belgium on his first international start.

The quartet boosted their chances of making the plane to Germany, with 18-year-old Mainoo’s stock arguably growing the highest.

The Manchester United talent staked his claim for a midfield spot with out-of-sorts Kalvin Phillips omitted, Trent Alexander-Arnold injured and Henderson unavailable.

Mainoo won his first cap off the bench against Brazil and, just four months after making his first Premier League start, was named player of the match for his display on his full England debut on Tuesday.

“He gives us a different profile of midfield player to anything else we’ve got,” Southgate said.

“He’s adapted and adjusted brilliantly. You can’t believe his age, really, that he’s just taking it all in his stride as he has.”

Asked if he was confident Mainoo could shut out the noise after such an impressive full debut, he said: “I think, firstly, he seems very mature, very calm. He knows he’s making his way.

“We’re absolutely delighted with what he’s done, first and foremost, and then there’s a lot of the season still to be played with his club.”

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane will make a return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to face his former club in August.

A friendly game between the German giants and Tottenham will take place as part of the Visit Malta Cup on Saturday, August 10.

The match marks a return to north London for Spurs’ all-time leading goal-scorer, who joined Bayern for £100million last summer.

Team-mate Eric Dier will also face his former club after the defender left for Bayern in January.

A statement on the Tottenham website read: “This mouth-watering curtain-raiser to the new season takes on extra significance, with the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, Harry Kane and long-serving defender Eric Dier having recently joined the Bundesliga champions.

“This will be a 12th meeting with Bayern in our history and only the fourth to have taken place on home soil.

“We memorably overcame the German giants on our way to UEFA Cup success 40 years ago.”

England captain Kane has been impressive in Germany this season, scoring 37 goals in 35 appearances across all competitions.

He leads the Bundesliga goalscoring charts with 31 so far for Bayern, who currently sit second, 10 points off league leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the table.

Last time Bayern and Tottenham met was in the 2019/20 Champions League group stage and Spurs were beaten 7-2 at home before Bayern won 3-1 in the reverse fixture.

England’s all-time record scorer Harry Kane opened his international goal account within 80 seconds of making a “dream” debut on this day in 2015.

Kane netted almost immediately after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute against Lithuania at Wembley, wrapping up a 4-0 win with a thumping far-post header.

The then 21-year-old, who had already scored 29 goals for Tottenham that season, was given a standing ovation as he took to the field and it did not take him long to get the sell-out crowd back on their feet as, with one of his first touches, he found the back of the net.

Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling scored England’s other goals, but the headlines belonged to Kane after a one-sided Euro 2016 qualifier.

Asked if he knew how long he had taken to get off the mark, Kane said: “Maybe a minute? Eighty seconds? Hey, it’s not too bad!

“It’s the start I dreamed of, it’s a little bit of a blur at the minute. It’s the best moment by far, to represent your country at senior level is the top. Hopefully I can keep doing it and it’s the first of many.”

It was a dream start which impressed then England captain Rooney – a man who knew a thing about coping with pressure and scoring goals and whose national-record of 53 goals Kane surpassed in March 2023.

“It’s fantastic, international football’s different and to score after 80 seconds is incredible for Harry,” he told ITV. “We’re all delighted and hopefully it’s the first of many.”

All those involved were quick to try and keep a lid on expectations, but given Kane now stands alone at the top of England’s goalscoring charts, they clearly knew what they were seeing.

“It is fantastic for Harry,” manager Roy Hodgson said. “We’re so delighted for him. It is a bit of a fairytale, but it’s nice when fairytales come true and it’s come true for Harry.”

“He’s crowned his England debut with a well-taken goal. Couldn’t be better really. It’s a very satisfying evening for us. I think it’s too early to put this pressure on Harry Kane. We should just be happy that he has done so well for Tottenham and made a name for himself to get into the England set-up.

“That’s not easy to do as we have a number of good forwards but let’s be happy with that and leave the future predictions to the future.”

England captain Harry Kane has resumed light training with Bayern Munich after being released from the national squad ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against Belgium.

Kane suffered an ankle injury in Bayern’s Bundesliga victory over Darmstadt earlier this month and missed England’s loss to Brazil at Wembley on Saturday.

The 30-year-old was allowed to return to his club to continue his recovery and the German outfit published photographs on Monday of the striker participating in an individual fitness and ball work session.

Kane, who has 89 England caps, is the country’s record goalscorer with 62.

The former Tottenham striker has also proved a successful signing for Bayern and is currently the Bundesliga’s leading scorer with 31 goals in what is his first season at the club.

England’s Euro 2024 preparations begin in earnest when they face Brazil in a high-profile friendly at Wembley on Saturday night.

It is one of two matches left before manager Gareth Southgate names his squad for the tournament in Germany as England look to go one better than their penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the key talking points ahead of the clash.

Getting shirty

Saturday’s friendly will be the first time the men’s senior team sport the new Nike kit following the backlash that met its release this week. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer were among a hosts of names to criticise the decision to alter the colour of the St George’s Cross on the back of the collar. Southgate said: “It’s not been high on my list of priorities. The most important thing on the England shirt is our Three Lions because that is an iconic symbol. It is the thing that distinguishes us.”

Brazil looking to avoid Wembley blues

The five-time World Cup winners will be wearing blue rather than their famous yellow shirts at Wembley, where they are looking to avoid suffering a fourth straight loss in all competitions. Brazil ended last year with World Cup qualification defeats to Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina and start 2024 as underdogs against England under new boss Dorival Junior. The 61-year-old, who was appointed manager in January, says Saturday will be the most exciting day of his life, but one he hopes will “be surpassed in July 2026 by winning the World Cup” – a tall order for a country lacking the stars of old.

Forward thinking

Fitness permitting, captain and all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane will be Southgate’s striker during the finals. However, the 30-year-old injured his ankle in Bayern Munich’s win last weekend and will miss the game with Brazil, while Southgate rated him as a “big doubt” for Tuesday’s match with Belgium. That will open the door for both Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, who will be hoping to get a chance to stake a claim as the main support in Germany. Watkins has hit 16 Premier League goals for Aston Villa this term and Toney is back in the Brentford side after serving an eight-month ban for breaching Football Association betting rules.

The Mainoo event

Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has been in fine form for Erik ten Hag’s side in recent months, leading to calls for a first senior call-up for the 18-year-old. Having been overlooked initially by Southgate, he was promoted from the under-21 set-up earlier in the week and could make his debut against Brazil, given the injury concerns in his position. The potential of matching a prospect such as Mainoo with the likes of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham will be something that excites Southgate, England supporters and the team alike.

Another debutant duo?

Unlike Mainoo, Anthony Gordon and Jarrad Branthwaite – both part of last summer’s European Under-21 Championship-winning squad – were named in Southgate’s original selection. Newcastle forward Gordon has impressed since leaving Everton, where centre-back Branthwaite has this season developed into a “Rolls Royce” of a player in the view of team-mate Jordan Pickford. The pair will be hoping they have an opportunity to make a late run for a place on the plane to Germany, with numbers tight in Southgate’s 23-man squad.

Harry Kane has been ruled out of England’s glamour friendly against Brazil and manager Gareth Southgate says he is “extremely doubtful” to face Belgium.

Already without a number of injured regulars for March’s Wembley double-header, the Euro 2020 runners-up saw Bukayo Saka withdraw through injury on Thursday.

England vice-captain Jordan Henderson and Cole Palmer remain with the camp but they too are sidelined for Saturday’s sold-out friendly against the Selecao, along with Kane.

The skipper sustained an ankle injury sustained playing for Bayern Munich last weekend and also faces the possibility of missing Tuesday’s game against Belgium – the final match before Southgate names his Euro 2024 squad.

“Tomorrow no Harry Kane, no Jordan Henderson, no Cole Palmer,” England boss Southgate said.

“I would say Cole and Hendo have a better chance of Belgium than Harry. He’d be extremely doubtful for that.”

Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson are doubts for England’s glamour friendly against Brazil after missing group training on the eve of the game.

Gareth Southgate’s men step up their preparations for this summer’s shot at Euro 2024 glory with Wembley friendlies against the Selecao and Belgium.

England skipper Kane and vice-captain Henderson’s availability to face Brazil on Saturday evening is in doubt after the pair trained away from the main group at St George’s Park on Friday morning.

The pair again worked inside on individualised training programmes, with Kane dealing with an ankle injury suffered in Bayern Munich’s 5-2 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt last Sunday.

Southgate worked with a 23-man England squad ahead of travelling down to London following Bukayo Saka’s withdrawal from the squad.

The Arsenal forward reported to St George’s Park with an injury and returned to his club on Thursday having been unable to participate in training.

England captain Harry Kane was among a number of players to train indoors away from the main group at St George’s Park on Wednesday.

Kane, England’s all-time leading goalscorer, suffered an ankle injury in Bayern Munich’s 5-2 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt on Sunday but joined up with Gareth Southgate’s squad as planned.

The PA news agency understands Kane was working on an individualised programme along with Jordan Henderson, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, linked up with his international colleagues to continue his rehabilitation at St George’s Park.

The rest of the squad trained ahead of the upcoming Wembley friendly double-header against Brazil and Belgium – the final games before Southgate names his Euro 2024 squad in May.

Manchester City’s 16-year-old defender Kian Noble joined the senior group for training, with the promising youngster suspended for Wednesday’s Euro Under-17 qualifier against Northern Ireland.

Harry Kane's efforts for Bayern Munich will be worthy of the Ballon d'Or should the England captain break the Bundesliga goalscoring record, so says David James.

A week on from becoming the first player to score four hat-tricks in a debut Bundesliga season, Kane netted his 31st league goal of the campaign in Bayern's 5-2 win over Darmstadt on Saturday, seeing him surpass Uwe Seeler (from 1963-64) for the most goals in his first term in Germany's top tier.

Kane has now netted 37 goals in 35 appearances across all competitions for Bayern since his switch from Tottenham, outperforming his expected goals (xG) of 30.19.

Of players in Europe's big five leagues, only Kylian Mbappe has scored more goals (38) than Kane, whose tally of 47 goal contributions leads the way across the continent.

With eight league games remaining, Kane is well on course to better Robert Lewandowski's Bundesliga record of 41 goals, which was set during Bayern's all-conquering 2020-21 campaign, and James feels that is evidence enough of the former Spurs star's world-class ability.

"The fact that he could break the Bundesliga record for goals this year, I think, is a testament to how good Harry Kane is," he told Stats Perform.

"He could be the man who scored the most goals for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, which would be better than Lewandowski, who people think should have won a Ballon d'Or for the amount of goals he scored in the Bundesliga."

Kane's form this season has been one of the few positives for Bayern, as for the first time since Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund denied them the Bundesliga in 2012, they look set to finish second, 10 points behind Xabi Alonso's high-flying Bayer Leverkusen.

James, though, feels there is still more to come from Kane, who will go up against his old rivals Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals.

"I think he's doing a marvellous job," James added.

"I think he understands completely how to play football, and that might sound a bit funny, but he knows what to do to be better."

There was some concern for Kane, however, who sustained an ankle injury in Saturday's win over Darmstadt, though the 30-year-old will join up with the England squad this week.

Harry Kane could be an injury concern for England after twisting an ankle during Bayern Munich’s 5-2 win over Darmstadt.

The former Tottenham striker broke the record for most goals scored in a debut Bundesliga season by netting his side’s second just before half-time on Saturday.

But the 30-year-old was substituted eight minutes from time, with England set to face Brazil and Belgium in friendlies over the next 10 days.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel told the club’s official website: “(Kane) twisted his ankle in the goal netting. He’s been applying ice to it since.

“We don’t have any news yet. We’ll have to wait and see and hope that it’s nothing major.”

On securing the German league’s scoring record, Kane said on X: “Proud to break a Bundesliga record but more importantly another good win.”

Harry Kane broke the record for most goals scored by a debutant in a Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich secured a 5-2 comeback win at bottom club Darmstadt to draw themselves within seven points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The England captain was replaced after colliding with a post late in a contest in which Tim Skarke opened the scoring against the run of play in the 28th minute before his goal was cancelled out by the first of two from Jamal Musiala.

Kane, who earned an assist for the equaliser, nodded home his historic 31st goal in the German top flight before the break, when Oscar Vilhelmsson also came inches away with a crossbar-clipping effort.

Darmstadt lost momentum after Musiala extended Bayern’s advantage with a 64th-minute strike before Serge Gnabry and Mathys Tel added their names to the scoresheet, with Vilhelmsson only able to claw back a stoppage-time consolation.

Bayern quickly got down to business with early efforts from Eric Dier, Joshua Kimmich and Kane, narrowly escaping danger when, despite dominating with over 80 per cent possession in the first 20 minutes, Mathias Honsak’s sharply deflected effort forced Manuel Neuer into an alert palmed save.

Darmstadt took an unlikely lead from a sequence that began with a lovely long ball from deep inside the hosts’ half, eventually allowing the agile Honsak to evade a pair of Bayern defenders and release Skarke, who slotted past Neuer into the bottom right.

Bayern looked to reply quickly as Musiala completely missed his target with a close-range header, but he made no mistake when Aleksandar Pavlovic pulled the ball back to Kane, who took a loose touch before teeing up Musiala’s low finish.

The England captain handed Bayern the lead on the stroke of half-time with an historic header from Kimmich’s cross, the goal standing after a VAR review and the lead preserved at the break after Vilhelmsson could only rattle the crossbar with his attempt at an equaliser.

Musiala extended Bayern’s advantage with a fine bit of footwork to weave through a sea of blue shirts before sending a strike through Schuhen’s legs, the ball appearing to deflect off the foot of the Darmstadt keeper.

It was Musiala who set up Gnabry for Bayern’s fourth, playing through the substitute who slotted home three minutes after his 71st-minute introduction, then came inches away from a hat-trick when he clipped the crossbar from the right.

Kane crashed into a post as he looked to tuck in the rebound and was eventually replaced by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in what Gareth Southgate will hope was a precautionary measure after he was seen hobbling around the pitch.

Eight minutes of stoppage time were not going to be enough for Darmstadt especially after Tel bundled home, but Vilhelmsson did his best to send the home supporters home happier when he snatched back a late consolation with a flicked finish.

England captain Harry Kane made Bundesliga history as he became the first man to score four hat-tricks in a debut season as Bayern Munich routed lowly Mainz 8-1.

Kane struck after 13 minutes, in first-half stoppage time and 20 minutes from the whistle to take his tally for the season to 30 league goals, in the process equalling Uwe Seeler’s record in a first campaign in Germany’s top flight.

Leon Goretzka helped himself to a double and goals from Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala and substitute Serge Gnabry, with Nadiem Amiri replying for the visitors, completed a win which eased Bayern back to within seven points of leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who host Wolfsburg on Sunday.

There were goals too at Borussia Park as Monchengladbach and Cologne played out a 3-3 thriller.

Faride Alidou put the visitors in front after just seven minutes and then restored their advantage after Franck Honorat had levelled.

Robin Hack made it 2-2 and then fired the home side ahead with his goals coming in as many minutes, but Damion Downs ensured the spoils were shared.

Ten-man Borussia Dortmund maintained their place in the top four with a battling 2-1 win at Werder Bremen.

The visitors looked to be cruising when first-half goals from Donyell Malen and Jadon Sancho put them 2-0 up, but Marcel Sabitzer’s stoppage-time dismissal for a challenge on Mitchell Weiser left his side up against it, although Justin Njinmah’s strike 20 minutes from time was as good as it got for the hosts.

Thomas Isherwood’s own goal and a second from Christoph Baumgartner handed RB Leipzig a 2-0 win over rock-bottom Darmstadt, while Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s first-half strike was enough to hand Augsburg a 1-0 win over Heidenheim.

Inter Milan moved 18 points clear at the top of Serie A with a hard-fought victory at Bologna.

Yann Bisseck’s first-half header clinched a 13th successive win in all competitions and stretched Inter’s advantage over second-placed Juventus, who host Atalanta on Sunday.

Substitute Eldor Shomurodov scored twice to help ease Cagliari to a precious 4-2 victory over bottom-of-the-table Salernitana.

First-half efforts from Gianluca Lapadula and Gianluca Gaetano and Shomurodov’s first put the home side 3-0 ahead and although Grigoris Kastanos and Giulio Maggiore dragged the visitors back into it, Shomurodov made sure with 14 minutes remaining.

Kristian Thorstvedt fired Sassuolo to a first league win in nine attempts as his goal secured a 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Frosinone, for whom substitute Kaio Jorge missed a late penalty.

Substitute Daniel Maldini came to Monza’s rescue with a late winner to see off Genoa in a mid-table battle at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Girona FC (@gironafc)

The visitors led 2-0 through Matteo Pessina and Dany Mota, but goals from Albert Gudmundsson and Vitinha made it 2-2 before Maldini won it with 11 minutes left.

 

In LaLiga, fine finishes from Portu and Savio sent Girona back above Barcelona into second place courtesy of a battling win over Osasuna.

Portu’s sweet first-half strike and a deft toe-poke from Savio sealed a 2-0 victory at the Municipal de Montilivi Stadium in which Michel’s men created enough chances to have won far more comfortably.

Real Sociedad needed a late goal from Andre Silva to maintain their bid for a top-six finish with a 3-2 win at Granada.

The hosts led 1-0 and 2-1 courtesy of Myrto Uzini’s double either side of Umar Sadiq’s equaliser, but were pegged back with 10 minutes remaining when Robin Le Normand levelled to set the stage for Silva to win it five minutes later.

Juanmi scored either side of half-time as Cadiz dented Atletico Madrid’s top-four hopes with a 2-0 win at the Ramon de Carranza Stadium, while Hugo Duro’s 40th-minute goal proved sufficient to secure a 1-0 home victory for Valencia over Getafe.

Ruben Aguilar’s first-half header dashed Brest’s hopes of closing the gap on Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain as they went down 1-0 at Lens, while second-half goals from Nicolas Tagliafico and Mama Balde secured a 2-0 win for Lyon at Lorient.

Record-breaking Harry Kane scored his fourth hat-trick of the Bundesliga season as Bayern Munich hammered Mainz 8-1.

Kane’s move to Bayern looks set to coincide with the first time in 12 years they will not win the title, but he is breaking all sorts of individual records.

Another treble saw him take his tally to 30 league goals for the season, with Robert Lewandowski’s seasonal record of 41 under severe threat with nine games to go.

Four hat-tricks is a record in a debut Bundesliga season and reaching 30 means he is just the second-ever player to reach that tally in his debut season, with Uwe Seeler also doing it in the league’s inaugural season in 1963-64.

Leon Goretzka (two), Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala, who Kane assisted with an outrageous crossfield pass, and Serge Gnabry also scored as Bayern cut the gap to seven points on leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand.

Kane’s goals have not been able to keep Bayern on the coat-tails of Leverkusen, who had opened up a huge lead at the top of the table.

But the England captain cannot stop scoring and he needed just 13 minutes to open his account when he converted from Musiala’s pass.

Six minutes later Goretzka made it two as he bundled home a rebound after Kane’s header glanced the post.

Kane looked primed to have a chance to add another from 12 yards after they were awarded a penalty for handball, but VAR overturned the decision – and then Mainz got themselves back into the game when Nadiem Amiri rifled home from 25 yards.

But Bayern were in no mood to drop more points and put their visitors to the sword.

Former Tottenham striker Kane made it 3-1 in first-half injury time with a brilliant finish, superbly controlling Goretzka’s cross and firing home.

Muller got in on the act two minutes after the restart as he tapped home Musiala’s cross before the 21-year-old got on the scoresheet himself just after the hour.

He had Kane to thank, though, for delivering a brilliant arching ball that sent him clear and he did the rest.

Gnabry joined in the fun five minutes later with a mesmerising finish, flicking home Goretzka’s cross with his back to goal.

Kane added another match ball to his collection when he got on the end of Eric Dier’s header at the far post to create history.

Goretzka completed a good afternoon’s work in added time as he headed home Joshua Kimmich’s cross.

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.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.