With RB Leipzig defeated by Real Madrid on Tuesday, Bayern Munich would be seeking to avoid suffering the same fate as their fellow German side as they travelled to Rome on Wednesday for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round-of-sixteen tie.
LAZ: Provedel; Hysaj, Romagnoli, Gila, Marusic; Alberto, Cataldi, Guendouzi; Anderson, Immobile, Isaksen
BAY: Neuer; Guerreiro, Min-jae, Upamecano, Mazraoui; Goretzka, Kimmich; Musiala, Müller, Sané; Kane
Having fallen to a 3-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, Bayern Munich find themselves five points off the top of the table – and with pressure rapidly mounting on ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
But if there was any desire to turn their fortunes around, it certainly wasn’t very apparent as they faced Lazio in Rome on Wednesday. Harry Kane came closest to opening the scoring in the first half, with the former Spurs forward blazing over the bar.
Manuel Neuer was called upon to deny Gustav Isaksen with a sprawling save at the start of the second half, but it was a reckless studs-up challenge from Bayern’s Dayot Upamecano on Isaksen that finally saw the match spring into life.
The Frenchman was dismissed for the tackle, with Ciro Immobile stepping up to send Neuer the wrong way from the penalty spot and hand Lazio the lead at a packed Stadio Olimpico.
Embed from Getty ImagesDespite a plethora of attacking talent, Bayern Munich were unable to respond – and ahead of the return fixture at the Allianz Arena on March 5, it’s the Italian side that hold the advantage.
Bayern will turn their attention to getting their Bundesliga campaign back on track in the meantime, as they prepare to face VfL Bochum, RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg before Lazio visit next month.
