Bayern punish Flamengo's errors to book quarter-final clash with PSG
The Brazilian side couldn't have asked for a worse beginning. Just six minutes in, a mix-up from a Joshua Kimmich corner saw Erick Pulgar awkwardly turn the ball into his own net.
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Only moments later, Giorgian De Arrascaeta lost possession in his own half, and Harry Kane as composed as ever, pounced. The English striker drove his effort off the post and in - 2-0 before the clock had even reached ten minutes.
Shell-shocked but not surrendering, Flamengo managed to settle somewhat. Their efforts were rewarded on 33 minutes when Gerson hammered a loose ball into the roof of Manuel Neuer's net after Luiz Araújo's low cross caused chaos in the Bayern box. It felt like a lifeline. It wasn't.
Minutes before the break, Flamengo committed another grave error trying to clear their lines. The ball landed at Leon Goretzka's feet and the German international unleashed a thunderbolt from outside the box to restore Bayern's two-goal cushion. At 3-1, the game looked as good as done, but Flamengo weren't finished yet.
The second half began with renewed energy from the Rubro-Negro, and they found a way back into the game. With 53 minutes on the clock, a cross struck Michael Olise's arm in the box. Jorginho stepped up and calmly sent Neuer the wrong way.
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In the 73rd minute, another reckless mistake - this time Luiz Araújo losing the ball while trying to dribble out, allowed Konrad Laimer to feed Kimmich, who slid a pass through to Kane. Left completely unmarked, the Englishman slotted home his second of the night, and Bayern's fourth.
From that point on, Bayern expertly managed the game. Even with Flamengo making attacking changes, the German side never really looked threatened again.
Flamengo showed plenty of fight and flair, but against a side as ruthless as Bayern, the margin for error is razor thin. The Germans march on to the quarter-finals with eyes now on PSG, who had earlier dispatched Inter Miami 4-0.
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