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Soccer

Bayern wallops Besiktas to book 7th consecutive quarter-final spot

It’s becoming all too easy for Bayern Munich.

The runaway Bundesliga leader is off to the last eight of the Champions League for a seventh time on the trot after topping Besiktas Wednesday in Istanbul.

Boasting a five-goal advantage ahead of the second-leg clash at the Vodafone Park, Bayern had all but cemented a spot in the quarter-final. Besiktas’ narrow hopes were handed a massive setback when Thomas Muller and Thiago Alcantara combined to give the visitor a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute, boosting the Bavarian behemoth’s edge to a half dozen.

It was Bayern’s 100th goal in all competitions this season, the 28th time it had scored at least once in its last 29 matches, and the 14th time in 16 outings where it had opened the scoring.

Besiktas’ deficit became seven when Gokhan Gonul helplessly parried the ball into his own net seconds after the interval, calamitous defending that was matched a dozen minutes later when Vagner Love slotted one past Bayern ‘keeper Sven Ulreich to make it 7-1 on aggregate.

Second-half substitute Sandro Wagner made it 8-1 when the towering striker chested in a deflected cross six minutes from time.

The second leg was a more balanced affair than the first when Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida was sent off after 16 minutes for a daft foul, opening the floodgates for a Bayern attack that didn’t need the help.

A representative in the knockout stages of Europe’s top-tier tourney for the first time in club history after besting Monaco, RB Leipzig, and Porto for Group G honours, Besiktas gaffer Senol Gunes opted for a makeshift second-leg starting XI ahead of a crucial domestic clash with Turkish league shocker Istanbul Basaksehir on the weekend. Gunes made seven changes from the side that slumped to a 5-0 defeat in the first leg at the Allianz Arena, notably dropping Canadian midfield metronome Atiba Hutchinson, versatile attacker Anderson Talisca, and tough-tackling centre-half Pepe.

Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes made three changes, but it was very much a case of an excess of riches for the veteran manager as Thiago, Rafinha, and Franck Ribery started over James Rodriguez, Joshua Kimmich, and Kingsley Coman, respectively.

With the result, Bayern joins Sevilla, Real Madrid, Juventus, Roma, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Barcelona in the last eight. Prior to getting bounced in the quarter-final stage last season to eventual champion Real, Bayern had made at least the last four in five consecutive seasons, winning the 2012-13 installment under Heynckes over rival Borussia Dortmund a year after losing out on penalties to Chelsea in the final.

NFL

Source: Jets to sign top free-agent CB Johnson

The New York Jets have landed arguably the top cornerback on the free-agent market, with a league source telling ESPN’s Adam Schefter the team is expected to sign former Los Angeles Rams “franchise” player Trumaine Johnson.

The contract terms weren’t immediately available. Johnson intends to sign his deal after 4 p.m. Wednesday, when the league year begins, according to the source.

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The addition of Johnson was an important one for the Jets, whose system is predicated on man-to-man coverage by the corners. Before landing Johnson, they had only one starting-caliber corner under contract, Buster Skrine, who is best suited to the No. 3 role.

The Jets also have been in talks with Morris Claiborne, who started 15 games last season. There’s still a chance they could re-sign Claiborne, which would fortify a secondary that allowed 30 touchdown passes last season.

Johnson posted a farewell to the Rams on his Instagram account Monday. He will be reunited with secondary coach Dennard Wilson, who was his position coach with the Rams through 2016.

Johnson, 28, spent the past two years as the Rams’ primary cornerback and played under the franchise tag in both those seasons, his salary jumping to $16.74 million in 2017. He was arguably the best corner available on the free-agent market this offseason, mainly because of his size, his ability to match up with elite receivers and his track record for staying healthy.

Among 86 cornerbacks with at least 325 coverage snaps, Pro Football Focus had Johnson ranked 35th in opponents’ completion percentage (57.3) and 36th in opponents’ passer rating (79.8) when targeted. He allowed 1.33 yards per coverage snap, which put him within the bottom 20 percent of qualified cornerbacks.

But Johnson also spent a lot of time shadowing the likes of Pierre Garcon, Dez Bryant, Marqise Lee, Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins, Michael Thomas and Alshon Jeffery in 2017. Those seven combined to catch only 57.7 percent of their targets when Johnson was responsible for covering them, nearly 8 percentage points below the NFL average, according to numbers compiled by ESPN.

A third-round pick out of Montana in 2012, Johnson has 18 interceptions and 42 pass breakups over the past six seasons, playing in 85 of a potential 96 regular-season games. During that time, he has proved capable of playing on both sides of the field.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.