Fresh off an emphatic Klassiker triumph on Saturday to make amends for a cup exit to third-tier Saarbrücken, Bayern knew that they could make it the perfect response with a win and UCL knockout-stage qualification here.
Despite some promising early forward play from Galatasaray, who ascended to the summit of the Süper Lig table at the weekend, Leroy Sané raced beyond the defence for the first real chance of the match, but Fernando Muslera showed great tenacity to collect the ball from his feet.
Although they went on to control possession, the home side looked toothless in attack, and Jamal Musiala’s long-range strike whistled past the post in their only other chance of the first half-hour.
Sané, who has been on scintillating form with 12 goal contributions in 10 league games so far this campaign, was again thwarted by the veteran Muslera, and Bayern’s wastefulness was almost punished at the end of the half.
Mauro Icardi latched onto Hakim Ziyech’s through ball, but Manuel Neuer stood tall to save in just his fourth game back after sustaining a leg injury almost 12 months ago.
Kane had already scored a remarkable 17 goals for Bayern before this game, but he was denied by the woodwork at the beginning of the second period as he slid in to meet Kingsley Coman’s cross.
Galatasaray soon had the ball in the net themselves through Barış Yılmaz, but an offside in the buildup set Bayern up to take the lead with just 10 minutes remaining. Familiar faces were responsible, as Joshua Kimmich expertly whipped a deep free kick onto the head of Kane, who flicked it over Muslera.
The Englishman had scored hat-tricks in both of his previous two matches for Bayern, and he doubled Bayern’s lead here as Mathys Tel took advantage of a mistake in midfield to slide it across the box, where the number nine was waiting to pass in.
A fair amount of nerves were injected into the Bayern camp when Cédric Bakambu fired one back on the break for the visitors, but there were ultimately celebrations in the home dugout as Bayern progress.
The loss for Okan Buruk’s side means that they take on Manchester United next round in danger of elimination at the group stage on the fifth consecutive attempt.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
