
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
49 min: I know Bayern are good but Lazio have been an utter disaster at the back.
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.

46 min: Not this time.
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.
Chelsea and Atletico are goalless – more here.
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.
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.

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.
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