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Harry Kane and Bayern Head to Lazio Needing to Bounce Back After Leverkusen Loss 

Bayern's Leroy Sane covers his face besides Harry Kane after the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (AP)
Bayern's Leroy Sane covers his face besides Harry Kane after the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (AP)
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Harry Kane and Bayern Head to Lazio Needing to Bounce Back After Leverkusen Loss 

Bayern's Leroy Sane covers his face besides Harry Kane after the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (AP)
Bayern's Leroy Sane covers his face besides Harry Kane after the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (AP)

This was meant to be the year that Harry Kane finally won a trophy. The Champions League might be his best chance now.

Bayern Munich heads to Lazio in the round of 16 on Wednesday needing to bounce back after a 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen left it five points off the Bundesliga lead. Kane is on track to be a member of the first Bayern team since the 2011-12 season not to win the league.

Injuries are weighing Bayern down, coach Thomas Tuchel's tactics are in question and forward Thomas Müller questioned his teammates' mentality in the “nightmare” Leverkusen loss.

Kane has 24 Bundesliga goals already but never came close to a 25th on Saturday. He was shut out of the game as Bayern fell further behind the league leader. Bayern's attack was neutralized by Leverkusen and the entire team had just one shot on goal.

There are 13 games left and much can still happen, but Bayern's title hopes now rest on Leverkusen slipping up. Not so easy when Leverkusen is unbeaten in 31 games.

That makes Wednesday's game at Lazio all the more important.

The Italian team, eighth in Serie A, may not be the hardest opponent Bayern could have faced in the round of 16, but the pressure is on the players and coach to improve.

Left back Alphonso Davies, midfielder Konrad Laimer and forwards Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman all remain injured, while goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and right back Noussair Mazraoui were rested Monday before returning to training Tuesday ahead of traveling to Italy.

Tuchel defended his tactics after the decision to switch from a back four to a back three for the first time this season backfired. Leverkusen exploited space on Bayern's left flank, where Tuchel had deployed Sacha Boey, usually a right back.

Bayern's transfer strategy is also in question after Josip Stanišić, a Bayern right back on loan at Leverkusen, scored the first goal. The way Leverkusen overwhelmed the central midfield pairing of Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leon Goretzka was a reminder that Bayern's season might look different had the club's plans to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham in September not collapsed at the last minute.

Kane reeled off a list of Bayern's attacking faults after the Leverkusen loss.

“In the final third we weren’t good in one-on-one battles, we weren’t good in duels. The final delivery wasn’t there today. So a really disappointing day with the ball,” Kane said.

Against Lazio, Kane and his teammates are under pressure to do better.

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Champions League Makes January Debut with High-stakes Clash of PSG and Man City

PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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Champions League Makes January Debut with High-stakes Clash of PSG and Man City

PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Fabian Ruiz, right, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint-Germain, at the Bollaert-Delelis stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The first Champions League games to be played in January include one with shocking possible consequences in an unpredictable debut season for the 36-team format.
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Manchester City on Wednesday is a clash of super-wealthy state-backed teams currently a barely believable 25th and 22nd in the standings, The Associated Press reported.
If the 2020 beaten finalist and 2023 champion play to a draw at Parc des Princes, both could start the 18-game final round on Jan. 29 outside the top-24 places that qualify for the knockout stage.
The new format that replaced the traditional groups — now with eight games instead of six, facing eight different opponents, and two in January — is unknown territory even for UEFA, whose preseason prediction that eight points should ensure advancing likely will fall short.
However, few imagined what would play out in the first six rounds.
Man City and PSG have struggled, Real Madrid has lost half its games in 20th place despite adding Kylian Mbappé to a title-winning team, and lowest-ranked debutant Brest has cruised to four wins and seventh in the standings, just ahead of Lille.
“It would have been impossible to list these eight clubs as being in the top eight positions,” Giorgio Marchetti, the UEFA deputy general secretary, told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “There is a lot of new fresh air.”
“I think the format has an impact,” Marchetti said, pointing to comments by Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi that it is more difficult to prepare for eight different opponents instead of three. “It is more of a challenge.”
Which positions are teams playing for? The top eight in the standings on Jan. 29 advance directly to the round of 16 that starts in March. They will likely include current leader Liverpool and second-place Barcelona which are the only two teams already certain to finish in the top 24. Liverpool is the only team to win all six games.
Teams placed from ninth to 24th go into the new knockout playoffs round. Nos. 9-16 will be seeded in the draw on Jan. 31 and will play the second leg at home. Teams placing 17 to 24 host the first legs.
Nos. 25-36 in the standings are eliminated and do not transfer to the Europa League. Already out are Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys which each lost all six games.
Tuesday games Liverpool hosts Lille and Barcelona is at 15th-place Benfica. Atletico Madrid in 11th place can rise above visiting Bayer Leverkusen, which is in fourth place with just one point more.
Aston Villa, the 1982 European Cup winner, can qualify for the round of 16 with a win at 16th-place Monaco.
Stuttgart, in 26th place, is favored to win at Slovan and move to 10 points, which would put pressure on PSG and Man City.
Wednesday games Real Madrid hosts struggling Salzburg, and third-place Arsenal can secure its round of 16 entry — and do Man City a favor — by winning at home against 24th-place Dinamo Zagreb.
Sixth-place Inter Milan goes to Sparta Prague, and Bayern Munich, in a surprising 10th place with 12 points, travels to Feyenoord which is 18th with 10 points.
Brest goes to Schalke’s stadium in neutral Germany to face Shakhtar Donetsk, which has four points and likely must win to stay in contention.
Why is the Champions League playing in January? For the money, mostly. The most influential clubs wanted a bigger and more lucrative Champions League and got two extra midweek matches for all. The congested calendar for soccer left few options.
Historically, European club competitions took a midwinter break until March. Then February was occupied in 2001 by the Champions League when a new format with a second group stage started. February stayed on the calendar when the round of 16 started in 2004, and for the next two decades.
So when UEFA decided in 2022 on this eight-game league phase, January was needed even though some leagues in Nordic countries do not start until March, and others are still on midwinter breaks.
Austrian champion Sturm Graz, which plays at Atalanta on Tuesday, has not played a domestic game since Dec. 7 and will not resume until Feb. 1.