That will do from me – thanks for all your company! Stay tuned for reports and reaction from tonight’s games. Take care and see you all again soon.
Bayern and Lazio will reconvene quite a long time from now, on 17 March. Unless Lazio do something pretty extraordinary, it’ll be a glorified friendly. Bayern will be delighted that they’ve got this done tonight given their key absentees. They were given a lot of help by an awful Lazio defence, although Musiala’s goal was a real gem and what a player he looks!
Chelsea have beaten Atletico 1-0 thanks to those acrobatics from Giroud! The away sides in control tonight.
Full-time: Lazio 1-4 Bayern
A much more even second half, but Lazio need to score at least four times in Munich when they go there for the return leg. Anyone fancy them?
90+3 min: A surprising late Sule burst brings Bayern a late free kick in Alaba range. It’s skied way over though.
90+1 min: We are in the first of four additional minutes. The pace of this game is a crawl now though.
90 min: Eventually they will, yes. It’s Choupo-Moting and Sarr for Sane and Musiala.
89 min: Now it is Bayern keepball. Will their two waiting substitutes get on?
87 min: Lazio look a touch leggy now but they’re keeping possession for a while, without looking like carving out a chance.
86 min: It’s very much been “foot off the gas” stuff from Bayern in the last half-hour.
84 min: Akpa Akpro’s brother is Football League legend Jean-Louis.
82 min: Luis Alberto, who’s been useful at times, is replaced by Akpa Akpro. The quiet Milinkovic-Savic comes off and on comes Cataldi, who immediately takes a corner and sees Acerbi head it wide at the near post.
Updated
80 min: Reina saves well from a Lewandowski shot on the turn after the striker kills a ball from the sky, although it was the keeper’s poor clearance that set the sequence in train.
78 min: A Correa shot is deflected wide. Lazio have never thrown in the towel here. Luis Alberto’s corner is headed wide by Hoedt.
77 min: David Hindle has lit the blue touchpaper. Here is Alexander Chesneau –
“Fully agree with David Hindle’s point. As a Lyon fan who had not seen Bayern play until the semi, I was not impressed. Gnabry’s talent put Bayern in control and, let’s be honest there, they did manage the tie well but until that point they had done nothing and had looked incredibly shaky at the back. Then the final was a balanced match where two Coman runs (the goal and a huge chance just before that if memory serves) made the difference. They’re certainly one of Europe’s top teams, but they certainly don’t look head and shoulders above the rest. Although the rest include a self destructing Barça, a Real going nowhere, a sputtering Juve, a tired Liverpool and a team led by Pep ‘let’s overthink the CL quarter finals’ Guardiola, so maybe simply being good is enough to be a top contender.”
75 min: Yet another yellow, Coman with a petulant late barge on Marusic. All a bit scrappy and niggly now. Bayern replace Coman with Hernandez immediately.
74 min: Chelsea have scored a big goal against Atletico – it’s Olivier Giroud with an overhead kick, and it’s a 1-0 “away” lead.
72 min: Kimmich is the latest yellow-carded player, for dissent, after Davies is harshly judged to have fouled Lazzari to the right of the Bayern box. The set-piece comes to nought.
71 min: Not this time. The wall does its job and Sane’s effort cannons behind. Bayern keep some pressure on following the corner but can’t make it count.
69 min: Escalanta is rightly booked for a pretty dirty foul as Lewandowski runs through the middle. Real chance from *this* free-kick, surely. It’s 25 yards out.
68 min: Davies legs it back to catch Lazzari and concede a corner. Can Lazio make this look interesting-ish? Nooooo.
66 min: Marusic is booked for a rather cynical push on Coman as the forward bursts towards the box. It’s a promising free-kick position but Alaba whips it wide.
64 min: Immobile puts in a snap shot but Neuer hangs on to it. Then Bayern spray the ball around a little. It’s been fun, this, but I do wish Lazio had come out as sprightly in the first half. They seemed to have stage fright.
63 min: A Bayern sub. Off comes Goretzka; on comes Martinez. Legs need saving.
62 min: David Hindle has precisely what the latter stages of this game might need – a provocative talking point ...
“Am I the only one who found Bayern’s results in the somewhat weird, ‘bubble’ phase of the CL last year flattered to deceive? In fact, the 3-0 against Lyon was a travesty. They could (should) have been 2 or 3 down in the first 20 minutes and were getting an absolute hiding. But, complete ineptitude in front of goal sabotaged the French. The final was actually a fairer result in that sense. It was close, although what money Mbappé would miss sitters like those this year? Bayern are going to get found out. My money on Liverpool to do the finding.”
60 min: Bayern haven’t responded to Correa’s strike by knocking a couple more goals in, I have no idea what’s wrong with them.
58 min: Yellow card for Correa after he put a painful one on Boateng.
56 min: Boateng has to make a block to stop Immobile getting a shot away after running through. Lazio are playing with some belief – but too late in the day!
54 min: Leiva comes off and Escalante comes on; Patric comes off and Southampton loanee Hoedt joins us.
Updated
53 min: Neuer has to paw away a curler from Luis Alberto. Tails up, indeed.
52 min: What an odd game of football. That goal surely won’t affect the tie, because Bayern have a three-goal lead and four away goals. But it puts Lazio’s tails up a little. Good finish but Bayern defended very limply.
Goal! Lazio 1-4 Bayern (Correa, 49)
They’re not so awful in attack though! Luis Alberto turns into space and sets up Correa, who waltzes through some nonexistent Bayern challenges and slots in coolly!
Updated
49 min: I know Bayern are good but Lazio have been an utter disaster at the back.
Goal! Lazio 0-4 Bayern (Acerbi og, 47)
Uh-huh. From the corner Sane breaks and runs the length of Napoli’s half. His centre is bound for Davies until Acerbi kind of runs into the ball, in a really Sunday League way, and sents it squirting into his own net.
Updated
46 min: Not this time.
Peeeeep! The second half has commenced
Lazio win a corner immediately. Make a game of it?
That Lazio-Bayern half? Largely men against boys. Lewandowski scored from an absolute gift by Musacchio; Musiala finished brilliantly; Sane tapped in after fine work from Coman. Lazio don’t look awful going forwards, and should have had a penalty – but they are so vulnerable at the back.
Updated
Chelsea and Atletico are goalless – more here.
Half-time: Lazio 0-3 Bayern
Dear oh dear. Bayern so good and in such control. You could end this tie right now.
44 min: Lazio earn a corner but can’t respond and their task looks hopeless now.
Goal! Lazio 0-3 Bayern (Sane, 42)
Coman streaks away down the left like lightning after another Lazio error. He twists this way and that, Reina parries his shot, and Sane taps in the rebound. Surely we are done, not a quarter of the way through this tie.
Updated
42 min: Lulic has made a difference and can’t quite pick out Luis Alberto in the box when well placed. So what happens next ...
40 min: Ooh, they nearly do get that goal after Lulic keeps the ball alive and tees up Immobile for a shot that’s deflected wide! That was goalbound. Neuer punches the corner away from under his bar.
39 min: Still hard to find much hope for Lazio. They have to score the next goal in this tie really, but don’t look at all like doing it. They look caught between poles.
37 min: Lazio have a pop from range – didn’t see who – but it’s several rugby goals high.
36 min: Reina makes an unorthodox save, kicking away Lewandowski’s shot after Musiala does well.
33 min: Bayern haven’t really created anything since the second goal, although Lewandowski is crowded out as I type that. They can play this entirely on their terms now, and step up the tempo as & when.
31 min: Yes, here is the Bosnian, Lulic to replace the hapless Musacchio. That’ll be a tactical switch.
30 min: Lazio appear to be readying an early sub – more as we get it ...
28 min: Do Lazio go hell for leather to get back into this, or make sure it doesn’t get worse? It’s hard to do that, whatever you do – might as well have a go. Luis Alberto is up for that, but a bit too much so, and is booked for a foul.
26 min: Milinkovic-Savic forces a save from Neuer from 20 yards. Such a shame for Lazio, that goal, given they’d started to settle. But Bayern are just so good.
Goal! Lazio 0-2 Bayern (Musiala, 24)
About that ... it’s some finish from Musiala, and an early 18th birthday present. That’s on Friday; today’s goal is laid on by excellent work from Davies and Goretzka, and drilled low to Reina’s right from 19 yards with incredible precision and composure. That’s the difference, right there.
Updated
23 min: Decent sight for Luis Alberto after a sweeping Lazio move, but he can’t beat Neuer at his near post. Again though, they’re starting to look as if they can compete.
21 min: That really did look like a penalty, I’m not really sure how Bayern have got away with that. Still, a few suggestions Lazio are coming to the party.
19 min: Lazio scream for a penalty after Milinkovic-Savic, coming alive, bundles through and is clipped by Boateng. That looks like a fair shout to me ... but a free-kick is give the other way, perhaps for offside in the subsequent move but a bit mystifyingly.
17 min: Better from Lazio. Lazzari sprints down the right but Boateng heads away. At the other end, Sane can’t quite get enough purchase on an elaborate backheeled effort.
Updated
14 min: Kimmich is released by a glorious Sane backheel but has to settle for a corner, which brings little. Bayern could win the tie tonight, and then some, if they carry on like this.
13 min: Lazio are at sixes and sevens right now. They just can’t get out. Bayern keep on coming.
11 min: I think it was Musacchio who, without looking, passed the ball backwards and looked on in horror as Lewandowski pounced. You can’t give him chances like that. Lazio have an uphill battle already.
Goal! Lazio 0-1 Bayern (Lewandowski 9)
Ohhhhh dear. A terrible backpass puts it on a plate for the old poacher, who rounds Reina and slots in with a minimum of fuss!
Updated
7 min: Most of the early possession is Bayern’s, as you’d expect. Imagine the atmosphere inside a packed Stadio Olimpico for this one, if times were different! They come close to silencing the imaginary fans when Sule surges forward and his centre is cut out just before Lewandowski can pounce. They keep the pressure on following the corner and a drilled ball across flicks *just* beyond Lewandowski off Reina’s glove.
4 min: Lazio venture forward through Correa but the move’s momentum fizzles out a bit. They look smooth enough in possession though.
3 min: A lofted ball over the top finds Coman in behind and if he can volley it across Lewandowski has a tap-in. He can’t.
1 min: Lazzari concedes a very soft early corner but Bayern don’t make the most of it. Lazio can’t go conceding early.
Peeeeeeep! Bayern get us going!
Game on!
Bayern have named only six subs, they’re a bit threadbare with a range of injury issues. Thomas Muller is the biggest-name miss.
The teams are strolling out in Rome – it’s Lazio’s first knock-out stage tie for more than 20 years! I think there might be a few goals in it.
Looking forward very much to seeing England’s ... or Germany’s? ... Jamal Musiala in action today. This profile by Ed Aarons from a few months back is worth your time.
There is a Premier League game currently going on and, in that, it’s currently Leeds 2-0 Southampton.
Lazio don’t have any of those old 90s names, not anymore! But they do have some belting players. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is up there with the world’s most gifted playmakers on his day; we all know Lucas Leiva; Ciro Immobile’s up front means we have two masterful centre-forwards on show today.
As for Bayern ... perhaps they’re not the invincible machine we trailed. I mean, they pretty much are, but in their last two league fixtures they drew 3-3 at home with Arminia Bielefeld and lost 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt. A post-Club World Cup slump? Could be. Now’s the time to snap out of it.
When I think of Lazio I still think of Boksic, Signori, Di Matteo, Winter, Casiraghi, Fuser. Am I just stuck in the 90s?
Big game elsewhere – Simon Burnton brings you Atletico Madrid v Chelsea!
Teams
Lazio: Reina, Patric, Acerbi, Musacchio, Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto, Marusic, Correa, Immobile. Subs: Strakosha, Pereira, Hoedt, Parolo, Escalante, Lulic, Caicedo, Cataldi, Alia, Akpa Akpro, Muriqi, Fares.
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Süle, Boateng, Alaba, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Sané, Musiala, Coman, Lewandowski. Subs: Martínez, Choupo-Moting, Sarr, Hernández, Roca, Hoffmann.
Hello you!
These are the chaaaaaaampiooooooons! No really, these are. Bayern Munich have rolled into Rome and, as usual, they mean business. You’d be smart to call this season’s Champions League a two-horse race between them and Manchester City, I reckon, and while tonight’s game has a hearty dose of glamour attached to it they’re clear favourites to get the upper hand over Lazio.
Simone Inzaghi’s team are a relatively lowly sixth in Serie A – although, boy, they do have some good players. They took four points of Borussia Dortmund in the group stage of this, their first Champions League campaign in 13 years. Can that inspire them to similar heroics against crack German opposition?
Stay tuned and we’ll find out! It’s a fascinating tie, this one, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and predictions in the buildup.
