The curse is over. After losing to Chelsea a year ago and falling to Internazionale in 2010, Bayern Munich has finally won the UEFA Champions league after a 2-1 victory Saturday against rival Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund looked like the more confident side in the opening 30 minutes of play. Despite watching Munich dominate possession, Jürgen Klopp's side had more chances than their counterparts. In fact, Borussia Dortmund had four shots on goal before Bayern Munich ever got an attempt at the goal.
Robert Lewandowski had a point blank chance right in front of the goal, but Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer stretched his leg and kicked the ball away. Minutes later, Marco Reus cruised down the left wing and fired a shot that Neuer stopped. Lewandowski would have another shot later in the half as he broke away from defender Jerome Boateng. Neuer came out to meet Lewandowski and blocked the shot attempt.
Munich eventually found their game and started to create a tremendous amount of pressure. A Franck Ribery cross was met by a header from Mario Mandzukic. However, Borussia goalie Roman Weidenfeller hit the ball over the crossbar with the tips of his fingers. Minutes later, Arjen Robben broke free toward the goal. Weidenfeller came out of his goal to challenge him and managed to kick the ball away. Robben would get another breakaway chance, but he attempted to dribble around Weidenfeller and ran out of room when an opposing defenseman blocked him. As the half wound down, a cross into the area found an open Robben. He chipped the ball at goal, but it hit Weidenfeller in head and was deflected away. Munich would end up with three shots on goal while Dortmund had five.
Bayern Munich continued to control the pace early in the second half and eventually got a goal from Mandzukic in the 59th minute. Ribery passed the ball through two defenders to an open Robben. The Dutchman drove to the goal but found his angle cut off by Weidenfeller. Instead of shooting the ball, Robben dribbled to the end line and passed it into the middle where it eluded a Borussia defender. Mandzukic got his foot on the ball and deflected it into the net.
In the 67th minute, Dante kicked Reus in the box and created a penalty shot for Borussia Dortmund. Gundogan capitalized on the penalty to even the score at one. Despite blowing the lead, Munich continued to pressure the goal and had a few glorious chances to take the lead. Bayern midfielder Thomas Müller got around Weidenfeller on the right wing and threw it at the goal. The ball was about to cross the goal line before Borussia defender Mats Hummels kicked it away.
Minutes later, Bayern's David Alaba fired a shot that Weidenfeller hit away. He made a similar acrobatic save on Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 88th minute to preserve the draw. Munich finally got the go-ahead goal in the 89th minute off a sloppy play outside the box. Ribery took a pass and flicked the ball past a wall of defenseman. Robben charged through the chaos and emerged with the ball. This time, he made no mistake and gave Munich the lead it needed.
Munich has now won the Champions league five times in their history.
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