Immobile on the spot to give Lazio edge as 10-man Bayern Munich struggle again
Ciro Immobile scored a 69th-minute penalty to secure a 1-0 victory for the hosts Lazio against Bayern Munich, who finished with 10 men in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
Immobile converted his spot-kick after the Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano’s clumsy challenge on Gustav Isaksen for which the France international was sent off with a straight red card.
Lazio stifled the German side’s attacks and Bayern were toothless throughout, failing to get a single effort on target in the match.
The Bavarian team, favourites going into the game, were desperate to bounce back from a 3-0 Bundesliga defeat against the leaders Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday which left them five points off the top.
They will return to Munich with more pressure piling on the head coach, Thomas Tuchel, and his team after their second successive defeat. They have failed to score in their past two games.
“We started well had a chance in the first minute and then with Harry Kane and then with Jamal Musiala. We had the game under control in the first half,” Tuchel said. “But in the second our performance dropped inexplicably. We made too many individual errors and made our opponents stronger and we lost concentration. We lost our rhythm.
“It was completely our responsibility. We lost a game today that in the first half looked like we could not lose it.”
Tuchel played down concerns about his job security. “Worried about my future? No I am not,” he said.
Harry Kane and Joshua Kimmich look dejected at the end of the match. Photograph: DeFodi Images/Getty Images
Harry Kane said: “[It’s been] a really tough week. We had good chances in the first half, but in the second half we had less energy, created less, and once you go down to 10 men, it’s difficult.
“We have to keep fighting; we’re still in the Bundesliga race, and we can still turn this tie around. One game, one spark can change things.”
Bayern created early chances for Joshua Kimmich and Kane, who both narrowly missed the target. The Italian side, who lost 6-2 on aggregate against Bayern at this stage of the competition three years ago, responded with a fierce Luis Alberto strike that flew wide of Manuel Neuer’s goal.
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The tempo gradually dropped, Bayern struggled with the disciplined Italian back-line and had to wait until the 40th minute to threaten again when Musiala fired over the bar from close range.
Lazio should have taken the lead two minutes after the restart when Isaksen had only Neuer to beat but the keeper stood his ground to block his shot.
The Dane won a penalty when Immobile passed to Isaksen in the box and Upamecano arrived late and stepped on his ankle. Immobile kept his cool and sent Neuer the wrong way to give Maurizio Sarri’s team the advantage going into the return leg in Munich on 5 March.
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“We worked and prepared for this match to have a say in it,” Immobile said. “I was convinced that the team would put everything out there. We had some opportunities and we had to be good at exploiting them ahead of the return match and we did just that.”
Bayern posted on social media after the match to condemn racist abuse directed at Upamecano. “FC Bayern strongly condemn the racist comments being directed towards Dayot Upamecano on social media,” Bayern said on X.