Kane double fires Bayern into Champions League last 16

Harry Kane netted a brace within three minutes of the second half as Bayern Munich defeated Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 on Wednesday, securing their place in the Champions League knockout stage.

Bayern followed Arsenal in clinching a top-eight position in the 36-team league phase with one match remaining, thus bypassing a possible two-legged playoff tie.

The six-time European winners hold second place in the table behind Arsenal before their final league-phase fixture against PSV Eindhoven next week.

Kane nodded in from a corner kick before earning and dispatching a penalty to give the home team a strong advantage.

The England skipper had an opportunity for a treble but squandered a late penalty after Bayern defender Kim Min-jae received a second yellow card and was sent off.

"We aimed to ramp up the energy after the break and I believe we managed that," Kane said to DAZN.

"The goals came at perfect moments, we were unfortunate with the dismissal yet even playing with 10 players we dominated and claimed the victory."

Bayern's sole loss across all competitions this season came from their Champions League setback against Arsenal, while they have built an 11-point cushion at the top of the Bundesliga.

Kane's latest strike marked his 34th of the season, contributing to Bayern's impressive 103 goals from 29 outings.

Bayern appeared lethargic during the first 45 minutes, possibly affected by the lack of their 9,300 dedicated ultras, as the lower tier remained empty due to a UEFA penalty for pyrotechnic use.

"We experienced something similar during Covid times of course, but essentially we thrive with full crowds in the stadium, which was not feasible today," Bayern skipper Manuel Neuer commented to DAZN.

The clearest opening in the first period went to Belgian title holders Union SG.

Around the 30-minute mark, an unattended Promise David escaped the Bayern backline and faced only Neuer, yet directed his header straight at the keeper.

Bayern required a dead-ball situation to unlock the scoreline at the 52-minute point.

Michael Olise floated the delivery into the six-yard box where Kane stole space upfront to power in the opener.

Just 60 seconds on, Kane drew a foul from Union goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen and took the penalty to make it 2-0.

Kim, given an uncommon opportunity with Dayot Upamecano sidelined by illness, earned his marching orders in the 63rd minute after a second booking for pulling Raul Florucz's arm during the winger's run.

However, the sending-off failed to halt Bayern's momentum.

Kane unusually struck a late penalty onto the crossbar with 10 minutes remaining, as Olise also lofted another chance over the keeper when through one on one.