Four days after a damaging loss in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich again didn’t meet expectations in a 1-0 loss at Lazio in the first leg of the Champions League’s round of 16 on Wednesday.
Lazio captain Ciro Immobile converted a penalty kick when Bayern was reduced to 10 men midway through the second half after the German club failed to capitalize on a series of chances.
Together with the 3-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, the result puts pressure on Bayern and coach Thomas Tuchel ahead of the return leg March 5.
Bayern, a six-time European champion, has reached the quarter-finals or better in 11 of its last 12 Champions League campaigns – the exception being a last-16 elimination by Liverpool five years ago.
Lazio, which sits seventh in Serie A, lost to Bayern in its only other round-of-16 appearance three years ago.
Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano was sent off for a foul on Gustav Isaksen and Immobile sent goalkeeper Manuel Neuer the wrong way with the ensuing spot kick. The Italy forward has now scored Lazio’s last four goals in the competition, having reached the 200-goal mark in Serie A over the weekend.
Before kickoff, Bayern fans launched flares onto the field and filled the visitors’ section with fire and smoke.
In Paris, Kylian Mbappe scored yet again in the Champions League and emerging winger Bradley Barcola grabbed his first goal in the competition as Paris Saint-Germain beat Real Sociedad 2-0 in the first leg of the round of 16.
The 25-year-old Mbappe joined PSG in 2017 in a deal worth €180-million (US$193-million) and has netted a club record 243 goals since then. The 21-year-old Barcola arrived from Lyon in a deal worth a hefty €50-million euros (US$54-million) for a relative unknown, and is starting to impress with his skill and poise.
Sociedad went scoreless for a fifth straight game in all competitions.
Despite huge spending, PSG has been eliminated from the last 16 five times in the past seven seasons.
A quarter-final place seems within reach, however, heading to San Sebastian for the return leg on March 5.