It turned into the perfect European night for Bayern with an electric atmosphere in the stands and a team that fought for every inch of turf and produced a superb performance in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen. It ended in a 3-0 win for the Bavarians as they put themselves in a promising position for the return fixture next week. And there were a number of personal milestones to enjoy amongst the victory as well.
Urbig’s baptism of fire
Just moments after Jamal Musiala put Bayern 2-0 up, there was a debut to celebrate as Jonas Urbig replaced the injured Manuel Neuer on 58 minutes. It was the January signing’s first outing in a Bayern shirt and also on Europe’s biggest stage. “First of all, I hope Manu gets well soon and that it’s nothing bad. I was obviously really excited for me to be able to make my debut in the Champions League. I’m also really happy the fans gave me such a positive reception. I sort of took it all in, but I was really focused and tried to cope with those 30 minutes,” Urbig said afterwards.
The goalkeeper did an excellent job as well. He wasn’t really called into action to make saves but immediately got into the game and was assured in his distribution. Aged 21 years and 209 days, Urbig is the second-youngest goalkeeper to play for Bayern in the Champions League after Stefan Wessels, who was 20 years and 205 days old when he featured against Rangers in September 1999.
Kane’s new PB
A brace for Harry Kane took his Champions League total for the campaign to nine goals, which is a new personal best for the striker in the competition, beating the eight he got last year. Since he joined Bayern in August 2023, nobody has scored as many Champions League goals (17) or had a direct hand in as many goals (22) as the Bavarians’ No.9.
Mr Dependable
Kane’s second goal came from the penalty spot, meaning he’s converted all 21 of his spot-kicks in Bayern colours. In total it was his 11th goal from a penalty in the Champions League. Only Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo (both 19) and Lionel Messi (18) have converted more in the competition’s history. The current England captain now boasts 38 goals and 10 assists in the Champions League during his career, which is as many goal contributions as compatriot Wayne Rooney managed. The only Englishman with more is David Beckham (52).
Musiala’s two new records
Musiala brought up his 17th goal of the campaign across all competitions, which is a new season best for him, surpassing the 16 he got in 2022/23. It was also his third in the Champions League for 2024/25, which is another personal best for him in the competition.
Milestones for Neuer and Goretzka
Neuer made his 150th Champions League appearance to become only the second goalkeeper to reach that total after Iker Casillas (177). Unfortunately his landmark outing was cut short due to injury. As for Leon Goretzka, he played his 250th game in all competitions for Bayern.
Read more about the game in our report:
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