Bayern 3 - 4 Chelsea; Chelsea win the Champions League
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Bayern vow to bounce back for Champions League final with Chelsea after cup final thrashing
Must do better: Bayern must recover quickly ahead of their final against Chelsea
Bayern Munich admit they must recover quickly from their 5-2 humiliation by Borussia Dortmund if they are to have any chance of beating Chelsea in the Champions League final.
The Bundesliga runners-up suffered an embarrassingly heavy defeat at the hands of double-winning Dortmund in the German Cup final on Saturday.
It was their fifth straight loss to their rivals, and came just a week before they take on Roberto Di Matteo's men in their own Allianz Arena for Europe's top prize.
'Obviously this defeat is very painful,' disappointed Dutch winger Arjen Robben said.
'It is frustrating and we need to process this quickly because from Monday onwards, there is only one direction and that is the Champions League final.'
While Bayern have been sensational in their run towards what could be a fifth European crown, they have played second fiddle to Dortmund in Germany all season.
An error-strewn performance, where sloppy mistakes gifted Dortmund three of their five goals, did little to boost their confidence ahead of what is the biggest match of the season and the only way to rescue their campaign with some silverware.
'It was our own fault. Only we are to blame for losing the league and cup titles,' playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger said.
Mistakes such as Luiz Gustavo's back pass that led to Dortmund's opener and keeper Manuel Neuer's failure to hold on to the ball that allowed Robert Lewandowski to complete his hat-trick could prove equally as costly against Chelsea.
'Every goal was a slap in the face. It was an embarrassment but we need to draw the lessons from this defeat quickly,' Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge added.
Down and out: Chelsea will hope to take advantage of the poor result
Dejected: Arjen Robben reacts to Bayern Munich's heavy defeat
Coach Jupp Heynckes, who fielded a full-strength team against Dortmund, knows it will be even harder against Chelsea as left back David Alaba, central defender Holger Badstuber and midfielder Gustavo are suspended for the final.
'The game against Chelsea will be a completely different game,' assured Heynckes, who led Real Madrid to Champions League victory in 1998.
'Obviously my players are disappointed but we will have recovered from this shock by next week. We cannot allow ourselves the same mistakes.'
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Frankly, I hope you lose
'ARD LUCK, NEPHEW ... Redknapp hopes Lampard misses out on European Cup gloryHARRY REDKNAPP has a message for his nephew Frank Lampard: Hope you lose in Munich.
Tottenham’s Champions League bid depends on Lamps’ Chelsea losing to Bayern Munich in Saturday’s final after Arsenal nicked third place.
Spurs boss Redknapp insists football comes before family as he bids to lead his team back into the big time next season after they finished fourth despite a 2-0 win over Fulham.
Redknapp said: “Frank knows there’s no love lost. My allegiance is only to Tottenham. He understands that.
“I want Tottenham in the Champions League next year. We’ve done all that we can and I couldn’t be more pleased.
“If people start getting carried away with what Tottenham should achieve they need a reality check.”
Manu Adebayor and Jermain Defoe got the goals to sink Fulham.
Scott Parker faces a make-or-break injection today on the Achilles injury which threatens his Euro 2012 spot.
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i hope chelsea wins. spurs have proven time and again they are inconsistent and not focus enough.
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Proenca picked for as final ref
FINAL WHISTLE ... referee Pedro ProencaChelsea vs Bayern Munich
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Time: 2:45 am - (Live) (Sun)
Mio Channel 110 / 102 in HD
Champions League - Final
PEDRO PROENCA will referee Saturday's Champions League final.Chelsea and Bayern Munich will clash at the German giants' Allianz Arena in European football biggest match.
And Portuguese official Proenca, 41, will be the man in the middle.
He was in charge of the second leg of the last-16 clash between Inter Milan and Marseille this season.
And last term he was the referee for Manchester United's semi-final second leg against Schalke.
He will be assisted in Munich by his compatriots Bertino Miranda and Ricardo Santos.
The fourth official will be Carlos Velasco Carballo from Spain.
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Bayern must prevail..................if both teams play well.................Bayern win for sure
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I don't mind Chelsea winning and do the double.
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Tsk. Penalty.
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the whole chelsea team can retire liao.....job well done....
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feeling sorry for bayern, they played very good football, but damn suay lah... penalty robben missed...
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YYEEAAAHHHHHH!!! LOL @ Tot for nxt season.
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Chelsea won on penalties. I wonder how RA is feeling right now. He spent so much, changed managers so many times but just can't win it. They appointed the disappointing AVB, sacked him and finished outside 4th with a team of players almost over the hill under temporary manager di mattheo. And they won it as underdogs against the home team bayen Munich. .
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I still have no idea how chelsea make it to the final and win it.
I still cant believe it.
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Originally posted by gunner77:
I still have no idea how chelsea make it to the final and win it.
Probably the only team that dont deserve to win the CL.
Reminds me of Greece in Euro2004.
Feel sorry for Spurs.
Why don't deserve? It's not like they won with the referee's help. They won away. They won with old men. They won as underdogs. You're jealous because they've better arsenal right? One consolation is they kicked spurs out of the CL place. Bayern have themselves to blame for missing the extra time penalty. Btw bayern weren't in good form too. They lost the league, the German FA cup and now this. Robben missed an important penalty too recently right? -
The better team lost .
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Originally posted by Poolman:
The better team lost .
Cup finals are cruel. It's worst this time as bayern were home and favorites. -
Originally posted by Paem:
Cup finals are cruel. It's worst this time as bayern were home and favorites.Chelsea deserve it bcuz they played better defensively, and choose to play defensive football against big teams.
Chelsea don't deserve it bcuz they didn't play attractive attacking style of football, i.e. Napoli, Barcelona, Man City, Bayern Munich. People prefer attacking football vs defensive football. Chelsea had alot of luck too.
In football, the best don't owaz win. Luck is a 'skill' too.
Chelsea(and other teams) cannot be lucky every year. In 2004, Greece and Proto won the Euro Cup and Champions Leauge respectively. However, their dominant position don't last. It's a 'one season wonder', it comes and goes. Unless Chelsea improve their play(they have quality to do so), I am skeptical about their next CL run.
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Times are bad.
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Congratulations to Chelsea for becoming King of Europe and doing English football proud...
Roman finally gets his Holy Grail...
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I still felt that bayern lost on purpose, 43 shots and 9 on target, They asked for it.
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Originally posted by Nigho17:
Chelsea deserve it bcuz they played better defensively, and choose to play defensive football against big teams.
Chelsea don't deserve it bcuz they didn't play attractive attacking style of football, i.e. Napoli, Barcelona, Man City, Bayern Munich. People prefer attacking football vs defensive football. Chelsea had alot of luck too.
In football, the best don't owaz win. Luck is a 'skill' too.
Chelsea(and other teams) cannot be lucky every year. In 2004, Greece and Proto won the Euro Cup and Champions Leauge respectively. However, their dominant position don't last. It's a 'one season wonder', it comes and goes. Unless Chelsea improve their play(they have quality to do so), I am skeptical about their next CL run.
in cup competitions luck is extremely important. man u had it against bayern and chelsea. liverpool had it against ac milan. only ac milan won consective titles in the late 80s. -
Chelsea win the Champions League
Bayern Munich 1 Chelsea 1 (aet) - Blues win 4-3 on penalties
BLUE-TIFUL ... Chelsea players and staff celebrate with the trophy on the pitchCHELSEA were crowned European champions last night after a dramatic penalty shootout in Germany.
Against ridiculous odds that had seen the Blues face Bayern Munich in their own backyard, they were even forced to take spot-kicks in front of the end housing their rivals’ supporters.
For Blues owner Roman Abramovich, this was not a dream, it was an obsession. In his nine years at Stamford Bridge, he has axed eight managers, signed 66 players and spent over £1billion.
But even the Russian could not have imagined that an ageing squad and a rookie manager would finally bring home the trophy he describes as football’s holy grail.
On a night of tension and excitement, Roberto Di Matteo’s men had looked dead and buried more than once.
Thomas Muller gave Bayern the lead on 83 minutes only for Didier Drogba to level with a powerful header from Juan Mata’s 88th-minute corner.
WATCHING DUTY ... suspended Chelsea captain John Terry looks on ahead of the matchStriker Drogba then went from hero to villain as he brought down Franck Ribery inside Chelsea’s box in the opening stages of extra-time.
But Petr Cech denied former Blues winger Arjen Robben from the resulting penalty.
The drama did not end there, though, as Chelsea struggled with fatigue, lost the toss as the game went to penalties and were forced to embark on a shootout in front of Bayern’s fans.
Mata missed Chelsea’s first spot-kick to give Bayern the upper hand after Philipp Lahm had opened the scoring.
Mario Gomez made it 2-0 before David Luiz eventually got Chelsea off the mark.
But Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer appeared to put the trophy out of Chelsea’s reach by netting to make it 3-1.
MAKING A STAND ... Bayern fans hold up signs saying 'Our City, Our Stadium, Our Cup'Frank Lampard gave the Blues hope before the drama really unfolded when Cech denied sub Ivica Olic brilliantly and Ashley Cole brought Chelsea level at 3-3.
Then when midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger missed, it was probably only fitting that Drogba, who had carried Chelsea to the final, should bury the crucial kick.
All the early pressure came from Bayern as they attempted to torture Chelsea using the pace of wingers Ribery and Robben.
The first sight of goal fell to Bayern as Toni Kroos unleashed a right-footed drive that flew past Cech’s right-hand post.
Even at an early stage, it was evident Bayern were going to see far more of the ball and Chelsea were likely to rely on quick, counter-attacking football — just like they did against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Yet it was near suicidal defending from Jose Boswinga that almost handed Bayern the initiative when he made a complete hash of clearing Lampard’s backpass.
It needed a breathtaking save from Cech to deny Robben.
The Dutchman was poised to wheel away in celebration but saw the ball come off the keeper’s leg and divert on to the angle of the post and bar.
MULLERED ... Bayern Munich forward Thomas heads his side in front
DROG OF WAR ... Didier Drogba scores Chelsea's equalising goalIf Chelsea were going to overcome a side that had won seven straight home games en route to the final, they were going to do it the hard way.
Muller should have given Bayern the lead, firing wide with a volley from a pinpoint Diego Contento cross.
Chelsea then produced their best move of the half nine minutes before the break.
Drogba cushioned the ball and laid it off to Lampard, who found Salomon Kalou. He strode forward before firing in a shot that Neuer did well to save at his near post.
GOTTA HAND IT TO 'EM ... Didier Drogba celebrates his levellerIt brought an instant reaction from Bayern but the outstanding Gary Cahill was equal to Gomez as the striker attempted to turn and get his shot away.
After the break Bayern picked up where they had left off, with Robben ballooning the ball over having raced into Chelsea’s box before Ribery found the net on 54 minutes — only to see his effort ruled out for offside.
Ashley Cole then came to the Blues’ rescue, blocking a goalbound shot from Robben.
Even Chelsea’s talisman Drogba began to sit deep, leaving the Blues with few attacking options when they did manage to clear the ball.
BACK OF THE NET ... Didier Drogba's penalty wins the Champions League for ChelseaRobben was continuing to play like a man possessed but even he was becoming frustrated by his side’s inability to turn possession into clear-cut chances.
With 12 minutes left, Muller had a great chance to put Bayern ahead but lost his footing and fired wide.
But his luck changed on 83 minutes when his superb downward header beat Cech to make it 1-0.
Di Matteo threw on Fernando Torres for Kalou with six minutes left and, with time running out, they won a corner on the right.
Mata stepped up and his delivery found Drogba, who powered his header home.
But barely minutes into extra-time, Drogba took away Ribery’s legs inside Chelsea’s penalty area.
Robben stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick but Cech came out on top.
Again Bayern came back at Chelsea and should have regained the lead through Olic — but he shot inches wide when unmarked.
The Blues were now playing for penalties, a dangerous tactic given England’s record against German sides and their spot-kick pain against Manchester United in 2008.
Luckily, for Abramovich, his ageing stars had not read the script.
BLU-MIN' MARVELLOUS ... Chelsea players rush to congratulate Didier Drogba on scoring the winning penalty
PILE ON ... Chelsea players celebrate with Didier Drogba
WE WUZ ROBBED ... Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez look gutted after losing -
Never I have seen in a match where so many players courageously throw their bodies in the line of fired shots. Somehow, I think Bayern had this little inkling of home advantage victory throughout the match but chelsea showed plenty of hunger.
And torres was conspicuously missing from the shootout lol. Cech must have done a lot of video homework to guess correctly the direction of every single penalty.
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Luckily jt not playing.
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both goals were superb headers. chelsea should erect a drogba statue outside their home ground. he deserves it. he won a lot of cups for chelsea.
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Originally posted by dragg:
in cup competitions luck is extremely important. man u had it against bayern and chelsea. liverpool had it against ac milan. only ac milan won consective titles in the late 80s.I don't mean u have to win consective titles. But great teams will compete deep into the competition; almost every season - at least pass the group stage. It lucrative for them to do so too.