Robert Lewandowski struck twice and set up two more goals as Bayern Munich on Saturday cruised past Chelsea 4-1 to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-1 aggregate victory and remain on course for a treble of titles.
The Bavarians will be on an 18-game winning streak across all competitions as they head into next week’s Final Eight tournament in Lisbon, where they face Barcelona.
“We’re already excited. Barca are a quality side but we want to compete with them,” Bayern defender David Alaba said. “We will go to Portugal with confidence and, after the last few months, we have nothing to hide from.”
Bayern, who won the domestic league and cup double and have won all eight of their Champions League games, quickly killed off the tie with a ninth minute Lewandowski penalty, after having won 3-0 in London in the first leg in February.
Polish striker Lewandowski, with 53 goals in 44 matches in all competitions this season, turned provider to set up Ivan Perisic in the 24th minute as the hosts showed no lack of fitness despite a five-week gap since their last competitive game.
Chelsea, who conceded seven goals in a two-legged European tie for the first time, did not lack match practice having played in the FA Cup final last week.
Half a dozen players were missing through injury or suspension, including Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic and Pedro.
“We had individual errors that gave them goals and at this level that will finish you off,” Chelsea coach Frank Lampard said. “It is a good exercise for us to go up against Bayern and their Champions League experience, with a lot of our players having debut seasons.
“I can see where I want us to go and I know we’ll be back,” he added.
Chelsea did get on the scoresheet with Tammy Abraham’s tap-in after a goalkeeping error as Manuel Neuer palmed the ball into his path a minute before the break, but it was Bayern who were in control in the second half.
Bayern substitute Corentin Tolisso restored their two-goal lead in the 76th minute with a well-timed volley from a Lewandowski cross.
The forward then bagged his second eight minutes later with a towering header to make it 13 goals in the Champions League this season, confirming Bayern’s status as one of the favorites for the title.
The three-month stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic means that the remainder of the Champions League is to be played at neutral venues in one-legged showdowns.
Although Shohei Ohtani’s first trip to the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series is a global sports event, it is particularly big in Japan. Fans from Ohtani’s home nation bought more World Series tickets for the first two games than from anywhere outside North America, ticket broker StubHub said. Dodger Stadium was packed to the rafters on Friday night for the start of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ showdown with the New York Yankees. “Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers drew big international appeal, especially from his home country of Japan,” StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli said. “At the beginning of the season, buyers from
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
STAR IN DOUBT: After partially dislocating his shoulder in a feetfirst slide into second base, the status of Japanese slugger Ohtani is uncertain for Game 3 as he undergoes tests Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Saturday walked back to his dugout and made the slightest tip of his cap to cheering fans. He left Japan for moments like this, an opportunity to put the Los Angeles Dodgers in control of the World Series. Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6-1/3 innings and Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night as Los Angeles beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 Series lead. However, the Dodgers head to New York uncertain whether Shohei Ohtani can play after their biggest star partially dislocated his left shoulder on a slide at second base. “We’re going to get
Three-time reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto on Saturday led a Japanese podium sweep at Skate Canada, locking up a second straight Canadian women’s title despite two falls in her free skate. Sakamoto, who led 19-year-old American Alysa Liu after the short program, looked a little tight during her jazzy free skate, falling on a Salchow jump and again on a triple flip while fighting to hang on to a few other moves. Her second-best free skate score of 126.24 was enough for gold in the second Grand Prix event of the season in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She finished with 201.21 points, well ahead