Bayern Munich beat Atletico Madrid in Madrid for the first time in their history on Tuesday night, Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer scoring in the second half to seal a 2-0 Champions League win at the Metropolitano — on a night when Harry Kane failed to score but still decided the game.
After a goalless first half Bayern controlled, the visitors struck nine minutes after the restart and never looked back, as Bundesliga.com's liveticker recorded a full-time scoreline of Atletico Madrid 0-2 Bayern Munich. The result lifts Bayern to eight points in the league phase, while Atletico stay on four and face a fight to reach the knockout rounds.
Karl punishes Le Normand, Laimer finishes the job
Bayern had been the better side before the break without testing Jan Oblak. Karl blazed over from close range on 23 minutes after Dayot Upamecano won the ball high up the pitch and Kane found him in space, and Kane himself shanked a first-time volley wide from Laimer's cross. Julian Alvarez flashed an early effort wide for Atletico and tried an ambitious chip over Manuel Neuer, but the hosts offered little else.
The pressure told on 54 minutes. Robin Le Normand took far too long to clear inside his own area, Karl nipped in and lifted the ball over the advancing Oblak — a gift for the teenager, but one Bayern had earned with a strong start to the second half, Oblak having already scrambled to palm away a Joshua Kimmich drive on 48 minutes.
Diego Simeone answered with a triple change on 59 minutes, sending on Koke, Ademola Lookman and Lee Kang-in for Le Normand, Alexander Sorloth and Alex Baena, and Atletico briefly dominated the ball. Marcos Llorente tested Neuer with a low effort, but the second goal killed the contest. On 74 minutes Kane picked out Laimer with a pinpoint cross, the full-back took one touch and slammed the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle, as TNT Sports described it. Upamecano had looped an effort off the crossbar a minute earlier, and Bayern thought they had a third on 81 minutes when Marc Pubill headed into his own net from a corner, only for the referee to rule it out for a foul by Upamecano.
Kane's record run ends — but his pass steals the show
Kane arrived in Madrid one goal away from equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring in 11 straight Champions League matches. He will not match it. The England captain had five shots without seriously testing Oblak, sending a bicycle-kick attempt off his shin, flashing a drive wide and skying a late long-range effort.
Yet this was still a Kane performance. When the record goal would not come, he created the goal that mattered, his cross for Laimer drawing praise from Owen Hargreaves on TNT Sports: "What a brilliant goal from Bayern Munich. Watch this pass from Harry Kane... the ball from Harry Kane was flawless." It was also a landmark night for Neuer, whose 164th Champions League appearance is a record for a German player and moves him third on the competition's all-time list behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas.
Bayern did it the hard way, too. Luis Diaz, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Ismael Saibari were all missing from an injury-hit squad — the full extent of the Bayern injury crisis was laid out before kick-off — and head coach Vincent Kompany was again absent through illness, with assistant Aaron Danks in the dugout. Kimmich and Josip Stanisic were booked for Bayern and Giuliano Simeone for Atletico, but there were no red cards and no penalties on a night Bayern finished with 57 per cent possession and 19 shots to Atletico's seven.
So what does this mean for both clubs?
For Bayern, this is a statement result in the league phase. Winning at the Metropolitano — something no Bayern side had done before — with five attacking regulars missing and their head coach absent takes them to eight points and firmly into the race for a top-eight finish and a direct place in the last 16, with four matches still to play.
For Atletico, the consequences are sharper. Four points from four games leaves Simeone's side in the play-off places at best and needing results in the second half of the league phase. A team built on defensive control conceded twice at home, created only seven shots and saw Alvarez and Sorloth both substituted without scoring. The Metropolitano fortress, so reliable in Europe, has been breached — and by a Bayern side at far from full strength.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: This was Bayern's most impressive European win of the season precisely because it was not a Kane show. Karl's opportunism and Laimer's finish, backed by Neuer's record-breaking calm, showed a squad that can win a big away game in different ways — and that depth, not one striker's record run, is what makes Bayern genuine contenders again. Atletico, meanwhile, have to find goals quickly or their Champions League season will end in the play-offs. Did Bayern just prove they can win the Champions League without Kane scoring — let us know what you think in the comment section.
