For the first time ever, two German teams met in the Champions League Final. On paper, Bayern Munich were the favorites to win at England’s famous Wembley Stadium. And with names like Franck Ribéry, Philipp Lahm, and Thomas Müller, any soccer fan would as expect as much. The Champions League final started with both sides playing cautiously, but a few minutes into the match, the teams started running end to end. After the first 25 minutes, you wouldn’t have known that Munich was favored to win this fixture.
Manuel Neuer had to make a point blank save in the 15th minute. In the following minutes, Dortmund kept the pressure up, forcing the superstar keeper to make a few more big saves. Bayern Munich kept forcing corners, and in hind sight, rightly so as Dortmund couldn’t get the ball past the first defender in the box. But Dortmund seemed to feel no discouragement, and was in complete control of the game through the first 25 minutes.
However, in the 25th minute, Ribéry and Lewandowski got tangled up, and oddly, Ribéry received the call in his favor, even though his fist connected with the opposing player’s face. The ensuing play off the free kick ended being trouble for Dortmund, forcing keeper Weidenfeller to make a wonderful save. The corner kick provided a scare as well, but the ball floated over the crossbar and out of play. Moments later, another massive save on a breakaway for Munich kept the game level.
This pattern continued throughout the first half, with the teams exchanging wonderful saves and near misses, including a painful save with the face of Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller.
The second half begins and the pressure is strong on both sides, but Dortmund is starting to feel the weight of early missed chances. In the 60th minute, the pressure on the Dortmund defense is too much, and the German giants Bayern Munich break through first with a fancy feed from Robben to striker Mandžukić for the tap in.
Borussia Dortmund started to pressure again feeling the heat of being down. In the 67th minute, their persistence paid off. Dante fouled Reus in the box with an ill-timed kick to the upper body, and conceded the penalty. Gündoğan was elected to kick the shot, and he did not miss, leveling the game at 1-1.
Bayern Munich looked to get the lead right back, and in the 72nd minute, the Dortmund defender had to slide to keep the ball from crossing the goal line. The pressure did not cease from the Munich side.
Again, persistence pays off, this time for the Bayern side of things. A great long ball sets Robben for an easy tap in in the 89th minute, and would ultimately be the deciding goal of the match. Bayern Munich would win the game 2-1, a game that they were supposed to win. Only in the waning moments of the match could the German powerhouse make that a reality.
The dream season capped off in brilliant fashion for Bayern Munich.
