UEFA Champions League — Kane misses hat-trick but guides Bayern to the knockout stages

Bayern Munich’s top scorer Harry Kane struck twice within three minutes to lift his side to a 2-0 win over Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Wednesday. With that he booked his ticket for the knockout phase with one match to spare.

Player-of-the-match Kane headed home at the near post from Michael Olise’s corner in the 52nd and added another goal from a penalty in the 55th minute after being brought down, to end a rare three-match goal drought in the league.

The England captain, who now leads the top scorer list with seven goals, could have sealed his hat-trick in the 80th minute but he tapped his second penalty onto the crossbar.

From the 64th minute onwards, the host country was down to ten men, after defender Kim Min-jae was sent off with a second yellow card.

Bayern are in second place in the league stage with 18 points and have one match left to play. It is guaranteed to finish in the top eight, leading to the knockout stages. The top eight teams automatically advance to the Round of 16, while the next 16 teams play a play-off.

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«It’s the Champions League; it can’t always be easy,» Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. «I wouldn’t say the opponent was better in the first half. We also had chances, but the pace was quite slow.»

«We played very well in the second half despite the red card. It was another strong reaction from the team.»

The Bavarians, with an empty stand in the Suedkurve of the Allianz Arena after being punished by UEFA for the use of flares in a previous match, had the visiting team trapped in their own half early and had an early chance with Kane.

Union, who had won two of their three previous away games in the league this season and are 31st in the table, came agonizingly close in the 29th minute but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made a world-class save to stop Promise David’s point-blank header.

It took a set piece for Bayern to break the deadlock, with Kane left unmarked at the near post, converting from the spot minutes later.

Kim’s dismissal shifted the balance somewhat, but Bayern should have scored again, with Kane sending his second penalty against the crossbar, and Olise somehow managing to miss the target completely from two yards out in the 85th.

Published on January 22, 2026