Soccer-Kane, Diaz score again as Bayern advance to cup semi-finals

Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and ​Luis Diaz scored within three ​minutes of each other as ‌they ​beat RB Leipzig 2-0 in their quarter-final on Wednesday to keep up their pursuit of a first ‌German Cup success in six years. Kane, who netted two spot kicks in the 5-1 win over Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday, successfully converted another penalty ‌to hand the hosts a 64th-minute lead, followed by a goal for ‌Diaz, who had claimed a hat-trick against Hoffenheim.

The Colombian kept up his scoring spree in the 67th minute, as he got on the end of Michael Olise’s pass to beat ⁠Willi ​Orban to the ⁠ball and edged his finish past the onrushing goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt. Vandevoordt had made several key ⁠first-half saves to keep two-time winners Leipzig in the contest past the hour mark ​but slipped as he came out to stop Josip Stanisic and fouled ⁠the Bayern attacker to give away the penalty, which Kane expertly tucked away.

Vandevoordt had saved ⁠from ​Kane early on in the match, before teammate Castello Lukeba cleared off the line in the 11th minute, and the goalkeeper pulled off ⁠another reaction save from Kane on the stroke of halftime. Bayern, who have won the ⁠German Cup ⁠a record 20 times but not since 2020, join holders VfB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the semi-finals ‌in April. (Writing ‌by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing ​by Toby Davis)