Kane double fires Bayern into quarters of Club World Cup

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich overcame determined resistance from Flamengo to book its place in the Club World Cup quarterfinals with an entertaining 4-2 victory on Sunday.

Vincent Kompany's side will now play European champion Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta on Saturday for a place in the final four.

Flamengo, backed by a huge and passionate following at Hard Rock Stadium, bowed out of the tournament, despite a performance of real determination from Filipe Luis' team.

It took just six minutes for Bayern to grab the lead, when Joshua Kimmich whipped in a corner and Flamengo defender Erick Pulgar's clearing header flashed into his own net off the far post.

Four minutes later, Bayern had doubled its advantage. Dayot Upamecano won the ball inside Flamengo's half and fed Kane whose low shot deflected off Leo Ortiz and rattled into the bottom corner.

The German champion looked like it was going to run away with the game, but the three-time Copa Libertadores champion was able to find a foothold.

Luiz Araujo forced Manuel Neuer into action with a dangerous snap shot, and then the winger went close again with a shot on the turn that flew just wide of the post.

Flamengo was rewarded for its efforts in the 33rd minute, when, after the dangerous Araujo played the ball in from the left, the ball fell to Gerson, who unleashed a thunderbolt which rocketed past Neuer to bring the majority of the 60,914 crowd to its feet.

But, all that good work from the Rio team was undone four minutes before the break, when Araujo's poor clearance landed straight at the feet of Leon Goretzka, who had the time and space to settle himself before, from over 20 yards out, placing his shot into the corner to make it 3-1.

'Fatal' mistakes

Flamengo came out in the second period determined to respond, and it reduced the deficit again in the 55th minute, when Michael Olise was adjudged to have handled a cross from Giorgian de Arrascaeta at close range.

It was the kind of tough call that has become the norm in the modern game, and former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho took advantage of the opportunity with an ice-cool penalty conversion.

But, for all Flamengo's energy, it lacked composure and quality in the final third — something that could never be said about Bayern.

The contest was finally settled in the 73rd minute after Konrad Laimer won the ball in midfield and fed Kimmich who, in turn, slipped the ball through to Kane. The England striker confidently beat Agustin Rossi with one of his trademark precision and power drives.

Once again, it was the ability to be clinical in key moments that proved to be the major difference, and Flamengo boss Luis doffed his cap to Bayern's killer touch.

"It's up to us to simply recognize the superiority of our opponent. They are very good, we knew that. At this level, any mistake is fatal. Those who deserved to go through got through," he said.

Kane conceded Flamengo's resistance had been hard to finish off.

"It was a tough game against a good team. I think we played well for long periods of the match, but they kept coming back. They made it difficult for us, especially in the second half," he said.

"That made the fourth goal so important for us. It will be another tough game against PSG. They've had an incredible season. We've already played them and won — we need to take that feeling into the game, even though we know it won't be easy. But, we've shown that we can beat anyone."

AFP