Harry Kane missed a penalty as Bayern Munich failed to hit top form but the Bundesliga champions still edged struggling Wolfsburg 1-0 to bounce back after their midweek Champions League semi-final exit to Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern, who won with a Michael Olise goal, had suffered a 6-5 aggregate loss to PSG after their 1-1 draw in Munich on Wednesday, narrowly missing out on what would have been their first Champions League final in six years. The frustration was evident at the start as the Bavarian side, with six changes in the lineup, lacked their usual attacking spark despite having Kane, the top scorer, in the starting XI.
Kane then squandered a 36th-minute penalty, slipping slightly before missing the target, for his first missed Bundesliga spot-kick after 24 successful ones.
The visitors needed more than one half to find their footing and they finally broke the deadlock with Olise’s superbly curled shot into the top corner in the 56th.
Wolfsburg missed their biggest chance in the 89th when Mattias Svanberg hit a post with only the goalkeeper Jonas Urbig to beat.
Bayern can still win the domestic double when they face Stuttgart in the German Cup final on 23 May. Second-placed Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in third are already guaranteed Champions League spots.
Stuttgart are in fourth, level on 61 points with fifth-placed Hoffenheim. The top four teams automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Lautaro Martínez inspired Inter to a dominant 3-0 win at Lazio, dealing the hosts a psychological blow days before the sides meet again in the Coppa Italia final.
With Inter already crowned Serie A champions and Lazio sitting eighth and out of qualifying for Europe via the league, the match served largely as a dress rehearsal for Wednesday’s decider at the Stadio Olimpico.
Martínez, back in the starting lineup after an injury layoff, underlined his status as the league’s leading scorer by opening the scoring in the sixth minute. Marcus Thuram flicked on a long throw and the Argentina striker volleyed past the goalkeeper for his 17th league goal of the season.
Inter doubled their advantage six minutes before half-time when Martínez combined neatly with Andy Diouf on the left before teeing up Petar Sucic, who curled a first-time effort into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Lazio’s task became harder just before the hour mark as Alessio Romagnoli was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Ange-Yoan Bonny, leaving the home side to finish the match with 10 men. The visitors wrapped up the win in the 75th minute after a flowing move through midfield ended with Henrikh Mkhitaryan firing into the roof of the net.
On Friday, the 16-year-old Mezian Mesloub scored seconds into his debut as a substitite to give Lens a 1-0 win over Nantes in Ligue 1 and clinch his side’s qualification for next season’s Champions League, while relegating Nantes to the second tier. The result also keeps the Ligue 1 title race alive, with second-placed Lens the only team that can still pip PSG to the trophy.
Mesloub picked up a loose ball in the box with his first touch in the 79th minute and fired home with his second to break the deadlock on his Ligue 1 debut. Lens are now guaranteed a top-three finish in Ligue 1 after moving nine points clear of fourth-placed Lille, with both teams having two matches remaining.
PSG can move six points clear with a greatly superior goal difference and two games to play when they host Brest on Sunday, all but securing the title, but the Champions League finalists cannot do so formally until they travel to Lens on Wednesday night.
