England captain Harry Kane was left in tears after Bayern Munich’s quarter-final defeat in the Champions League, as a former star warned the forward is running out of opportunities to claim the famous trophy.
Cameras focused on a tearful Kane after the final whistle at the San Siro on Wednesday night, as Bayern fell short in their bid to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit to Inter Milan.
Kane had levelled the tie on the night, but Bayern were left to rue a three minute spell in the second half with Lautaro Martinez and Benjamin Pavard scoring for the hosts.
An Eric Dier header made it 2-2 on the night, but Bayern ultimately fell to a 4-3 aggregate defeat with Inter advancing to the semi-finals.
The result leaves Kane, 31, still awaiting the first trophy of his career despite his individual achievements, with the drought now stretching past 15 years.
Kane has come agonisingly close to earning major silverware with both club and country, twice finishing as beaten European Championship finalists with England.
Harry Kane was left in tears after Bayern Munich were knocked out of the Champions League
Bayern Munich’s exit continues Kane’s wait for the first trophy of his impressive career
Kane and Bayern are on course to win the Bundesliga but their European exit is a major blow
He has also finished as a runner-up in the Champions League, Premier League and League Cup with Tottenham, along with suffering a German Super Cup final defeat with Bayern.
Former Bayern Munich star Michael Ballack, speaking on DAZN, suggested Kane’s tears were ‘symbolic’ with the England captain aware he is running out of opportunities to claim the sport’s biggest prizes.
‘With every year that passes, with every year you no longer have the chance to win the title – that’s what it does to you,’ Ballack said.
‘This moment was symbolic of that. Maybe even a few tears in my eyes. Because you naturally feel that you can achieve more with this team. The players felt that, and he knows it too.
‘You don’t get as many opportunities anymore, there are fewer years.’
Despite the disappointment in the Champions League, Kane is still on track to claim a first trophy of his career.
Bayern Munich are currently six points clear of reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga with just five matches left to play.
Former England international Joe Cole claimed Kane would be ‘pained’ by Bayern’s Champions League exit, after the forward missed a 91st minute chance to level the match.
Former Bayern Munich star Michael Ballack warned Kane is running out of opportunities
Kane was on target for Bayern Munich but his side were beaten by in Italy by Inter Milan
The England captain missed a golden opportunity in added time to force the extra half hour
Lautaro Martinez equalised for Inter before Benjamin Pavard made it 2-1 to the Italian side
Kane fired over the crossbar after Inter goalkeeper Yan Sommer mistimed a punch.
‘I think when he watches that that will pain him,’ said former Chelsea and England star Joe Cole on TNT Sport.
‘The goalkeeper is in no-man’s land, if he had just lifted it, it just needed a lob.
‘Two great sides, and Inter Milan are through but I think it will be an even better semi-final.’
Vincent Kompany however remained philosophical about his side’s Champions League campaign, claiming his side wouldn’t have wished for ‘a lot different’.
‘Football is all about details. When you look at how the two games went, we wouldn’t have wished for a lot different, except the goals we conceded,’ he said.
‘We knew about Inter’s strengths going forward and from set pieces – but we were also dangerous and had our chances.’
The Italians will face Barcelona next, who they defeated at the semi-final stage in 2010 before going on to beat Bayern in the final to complete the treble, and Simone Inzaghi’s side are still on course to repeat that feat this season.
Eric Dier headed home for Bayern to make it 2-2 from an acute angle and set up a tense finale
Vincent Kompany remained philosophical about his side’s performance despite their defeat
Inter – who are chasing an unprecedented Treble – will now face Barcelona in the semi-finals
It was a far from comfortable evening for Inter, but they did just enough in a pulsating clash between the top teams from Serie A and the Bundesliga.
Bayern, who lost the first leg 2-1, were the more aggressive side from the off, with Sommer saving a shot on the turn from Thomas Muller early on.
A mistake by Nicolo Barella allowed Muller to steal possession and play a pass into Michael Olise but Alessandro Bastoni nicked the ball off his toe before he could get a shot away.
Bayern’s first attack of the second half led to Kane netting his 11th goal of this season’s competition.
Leon Goretzka played the ball into Kane who took his time before teeing up a shot from a wide angle which he sent through the legs of Dimarco and into the far corner.
Bayern’s joy lasted all of six minutes, as Martinez scored from a corner kick. His first headed effort came back off Joshua Kimmich and the Inter striker made no mistake with his shot from the rebound.
Inter went in search of a goal to kill off Bayern and found it within three minutes. Darmian had a shot cleared off the line by Dier and from the resulting corner Pavard powered a header past Jonas Urbig.
Bayern, however, refused to give in, and after a short corner, Serge Gnabry floated a ball into the box and Dier’s attempt at a headed cross from the byline ended up finding the net.
With 14 minutes still remaining, a nervy ending was guaranteed. Sommer made a diving save from Muller deep into added time and the hosts held on and for the first time the Germans failed to win away to Inter, and exited the competition.
‘We’re disappointed. I gave everything, we gave everything,’ admitted veteran forward Muller after the game.
‘We played against the best team in Italy who have only conceded two goals in the Champions League before facing us. We can analyse everything, we can analyse the fact we conceded two goals from set pieces.’