Posted On Saturday, May 25th, 2013

2013 Champions League | Bayern Munich 2, Borussia Dortmund 1

FacebookTwitterEmail
 

Robben Steals the Game for Bayern Munich with a Goal in Minute 89

The battle lived up to the hype. Dortmund stormed the gates with high octane offense in the first half, shocking Munich. The underdogs put a lot of pressure on the Munich defense with good shots on target. Munich’s goalie Neuer made miraculous saves to fend off Dortmund’s Lewandowski and Reus. The tide turned toward the end of the first half and it was Bayern on the attack. Dortmund goalkeeper Weidenfeller came up big to stop Robben on a breakaway. The first half ended with several good chances for both squads.

Bayern Munich took control of the second half and finally broke through with a pass by Robben and a tap in goal from the Croatian Mandzucik in minute 60. Dortmund responded with pressure in the box of Munich. Dante, the Brazilian defender, kicked Reus in the stomach, which resulted in a penalty kick. The penalty kick was sent through the right side by German Gundogan, tying the game.

One could easily argue that Dante should have been given a second yellow card for the punishing foul. If Bayern would have had one less player on the pitch, then that would have dramatically changed the game. The referee opted to call it an accident and did not give a second yellow. He also might have not wanted to influence the game result too much.

The game sat at a 1-1 standstill as the final minutes approached. Penalty kicks seemed imminent. In minute 89 Munich went on the attack and Frenchman Ribery flicked the ball with a clever backheel. The ball squeezed through a couple of defenders and landed perfectly for Robben. The Dutchman gave the ball a nice touch. He set himself up with a one on one with the charging keeper Weidenfeller. Robben rolled the ball past the keeper by kicking in the opposite direction of Robben’s body motion. The Dortmund defense could only watch helplessly as the ball slowing crossed the goal line. Robben redeemed himself and the Bayern Munich team after last year’s debacle (he missed a penalty kick to beat Chelsea). Bayern Munich got the monkey off their back and finally lifted the Champions League trophy after being in the final during 3 of the last 4 years. In the end, Bayern slightly outplayed Dortmund by winning ball possession (61% to 39%) and shots on goal (10 to 7).

That’s a wrap on the 2013 Champions League season! The Champions League winners will get their chance to beat Europa League Champions Chelsea in August when the two teams face off in the UEFA Super Cup.

-Bourke MacDonald

IFX Blogger

Choose the best international soccer immersion program combining international education and football!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

Call For More Info
+1 510-599-4 625

APPLY TO THE SAME PROGRAM

You also might be interested in...

Back To List Of Blogs