ROME – Ciro Immobile fired Lazio into a first Champions League quarter-final in almost a quarter of a century with a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday that plunged their struggling rivals deeper into crisis.
Italian forward Immobile scored a crucial last-16 goal in Rome from a 69th-minute penalty to pile the pressure on Bundesliga champions Bayern, who are risking a disastrous season by their own lofty standards.
The free-kick was won by Gustav Isaksen, who was knocked down by Dayot Upamecano with a rash tackle, earning the French defender a red card and keeping Bayern grounded for the final 20 minutes.
Immobile struck just days after scoring his 200th Serie A goal to give a raucous Lazio home crowd a dream of a first quarter-final in Europe’s top competition in 24 years.
“We prepared for this game to give Bayern a game. Even if we only had a 10 percent chance, the team would have given everything on the pitch,” Ciro Immobile told Amazon Prime Video.
“We wanted to give our fans a good night and I think we did.
Lazio last won the Italian title when they reached the quarter-finals in 2000, losing to Valencia in the round of 16.
And to emulate a star-studded squad that featured the likes of Juan Sebastian Veron, Marcelo Salas and Sinisa Mihajlovic, Maurizio Sarri’s side must endure in Bavaria next month.
However, Bayern are a club in the doldrums and a toothless display in the Italian capital, in which they did not have a single shot on target, will not help embattled coach Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel, who described his side’s performance as “a bit of a slap in the face”, denied he was worried about his future, even though Wednesday’s defeat came after a 3-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday left Bayern five points clear in Germany. race for the title.
The Champions League looked like Bayern’s last chance at a trophy this season, but Immobile has put those hopes into serious doubt.
BAYERN’S “HARD WEEK”
“We had a good first half, we were the better team, we were absolutely dominant, we had chances and in the second half we lost rhythm and confidence. I don’t know why,” said Tuchel.
“With that performance we did everything we could to lose this game which was completely out of our hands.
Star striker Harry Kane admitted Bayern had a “really tough week”.
“We’re in a tough spell. We’ve got to fight. We’ve got to turn it around. We’ve got big games coming up and big things to fight for,” Kane told TNT Sports.
“We’re not out, we’re never going to give up. We just need to turn it around. One play or one spark can turn it around.”
Bayern were on top for much of the opening period, which was light on clear-cut chances and accounted for just one shot on target.
That effort was Alessio Romagnoli’s weak header for the visitors, who were fortunate to go on the break when Jamal Musiala fired just over the bar after a slick pass on the edge of the Lazio area.
Kane headed over from close range early on, while in the 32nd minute Leroy Sane watched his powerful shot go just wide after a neat free-kick routine.
Immediately after the break, however, Bayern gave thanks to Manuel Neuer, who raced to stop Gustav Isaksen for Lazio’s lead after Luis Alberto had brilliantly put him through.
And after a long period of ineffective possession by Bayern, Immobile punished the away side with his 20th goal of the season, which Isaksen won after being stopped by Upamecano.
With a goal and a man left, Bayern had an even harder time threatening a well-organised home defense from that point on, allowing Lazio to hold on for a famous victory.
