BAYER LEVERKUSEN goalkeeper Matej Kovar made a horror blunder to gift Bayern Munich the edge in their Champions League crunch clash.
Jamal Musiala capitalised when Kovar – who spent three years at Manchester United between 2020 and 2023 – dropped Joshua Kimmich’s simple cross in the 55th minute.
Kovar never made a first-team appearance for the Red Devils, but did play 53 times for their under-21s.
With Bayern 1-0 up at the time, Arsenal and Liverpool target Kimmich’s lofty long cross should’ve been a simple catch for the Czech Republic Euro 2024 stopper.
But Kovar, 24, jumped and somehow let the ball slip through his fingers in the 55th minute, to double the home side’s lead.
Musiala, who was lingering underneath Kovar, pounced on the mistake and tapped home his third Champions League goal of the season.
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The camera turned to a devastated Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso on the touchline.
During his three year stint at United, Kovar was shipped out on loan to Swindon Town, Burton Albion and Sparta Prague, before joining Leverkusen on a permanent basis in 2023.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors after Kovar’s howler when Nordi Mukiele was sent off for a second booking for a foul on Kingsley Coman in the 62nd minute.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane marked his reunion with blunder referee Michael Oliver, with two goals – his 53rd and 54th in the competition.
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Kane got Bayern off to a dream start after just nine minutes, with a high back-post header over Leverkusen’s Mukiele.
The England captain met former Crystal Palace star and countryman Michael Olise’s blistering pristine cross.
Kane then won a foul from Edmond Tapsoba inside the box and scored a penalty in the 71st minute to secure a 3-0 win for the Bundesliga leaders.
The former Spurs star has now scored 30-plus goals in a season for the seventh time in his club career, since the first season he did so in 2014-15.
Only Robert Lewandowski has more 30 goal campaigns (nine) for clubs in Europe‘s big-five leagues.
Olise looked at home in the Champions League and was a menace throughout.
But it took just 16 minutes, for under-fire Prem ref Oliver to be sucked into his first bit of drama.
Bayern stars crowded him when Kane’s free-kick, won by Olise, struck Mukiele’s arm, who was standing in the wall inside the box inside 15 minutes.
Oliver waved on before a standard VAR check confirmed no penalty.
The biggest controversy came when Kane escaped a red card after a David Beckham-style kick out at Granit Xhaka.
Xhaka shoved Kane in the back, causing the striker to fall.
The England captain then lashed out at Xhaka and appeared to throw out his leg as the ex-Arsenal star fell to the turf.
Team-mates and the referee had to intervene to separate the former North London derby rivals, though neither were booked.
Oliver was kept busy on Wednesday night after two red card checks across the 90 minutes.
He might welcome a weekend off after being kept off the Prem schedule.
It comes after Oliver’s stunning initial decision not to send off a Millwall player for a kung-fu kick on Saturday.
Oliver, 40, needed a VAR intervention to persuade him to issue a red card to Lions keeper Liam Roberts for his outrageous challenge on Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Meanwhile, 10-man Barcelona beat Benfica 1-0 away from home in their first-leg tie in Lisbon.
Former Leeds star Raphinha broke the deadlock in the 61st minute, with a stunning low corner finish past Anatoliy Trubin.
Barca star Pau Cubarsi showed his age when he was given a straight red for a last-man challenge on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 22nd minute.
Cubarsi, 18, was hoping to execute the perfect challenge, but caught Pavlidis on the edge of the box.
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Insodoing, he became the the second youngest player to be sent off in Champions League history after Celestine Babayaro in 1994 (16 years and 86 days).
Benfica keeper Trubin had been forced into a sensational triple save just moments before the red card.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
