. It has in the Champions League, too, given Bayern Munich are in the quarter-finals for a sixth consecutive year. If they treat Inter with the same disdain they showed Bayer Leverkusen, whose brief spell as domestic kryptonite appears to be comprehensively over, then they may move closer to winning the trophy on home soil in May. They never looked like losing even a fraction of the three-goal lead amassed in the first leg and could count once again on Harry Kane, whose simple opener and subsequent assist for Alphonso Davies floored a weakened Leverkusen.
The home side could point to the absence of Florian Wirtz, whose next action in this competition will come in Bayern’s colours if his suitors have their way. The playmaker’s weekend injury meant that, to all intents and purposes, dreams of a comeback were over as soon as they had begun. Not even Xabi Alonso’s magic touch could compensate and a team that had outplayed Bayern here in the Bundesliga last month looked bereft of confidence here.
Within 15 minutes of the start Kane had two opportunities to reinforce his present role as the spearhead of a coherently functioning Bayern. First a sumptuous turn and precise low centre from Jamal Musiala begged conversion but, falling to the ground in mid-grapple with Mario Hermoso, he could not apply enough purchase to beat Lukas Hradecky. The keeper scrambled back to claw away from the line; when Kane took aim from further out a little later he beat the shot away and at least the tie retained some notional life.
Kane’s second strike came after seizing on a sloppy pass from defence. Leverkusen knew they needed something quickly but, almost from kick-off, their desperation looked too clear. Alonso had admitted in the buildup that a dose of chaos, rather than the control he prefers, might be required in order to swing the tie but the effect was a jumpiness that wrought little. Passes pinged off knees and toes; footings were lost and …
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