Pep’s perfect farewell / Image via espnfc.com
Dortmund’s attempts to ruin Pep Guardiola’s perfect farewell ended in disappointment as Bayern Munich recorded a win on penalties to secure the domestic double and get crowned DFB Pokal champions.
Having helped his team win the fourth straight Bundesliga triumph, Pep Guardiola is leaving Munich on the back of a Cup triumph which helped erase the Champions League disappointment this season.
We have seen a close-knit contest between Germany’s bitter rivals and an emotional closure to Guardiola’s reign in an exciting match that ended goalless in regular time. The match was decided after a penalty shootout during which Bayern showed great composure to seal the triumph.
First Half
Thomas Muller broke the silence five minutes into the Saturday’s DFB Pokal final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium when he hammered the ball from far out, but only to see it fly narrowly over the bar.
With plenty at stake in the ultimate match of the football season in Germany both rivals were cautious in the opening stages of the match and we have been forced to wait for almost half an hour for the next excitement.
It was Douglas Costa who tried to break the deadlock after 33 minutes when he wasted a promising opportunity as he produced a goal-bound effort from the edge of the box. Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki stopped the ball with a brilliant save saving his team a sure goal.
Dortmund attempted to reply in the very next play when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang created himself a good chance from mid-range, but Dortmund star striker missed the goal wide of the left post.
A couple of half chances were seen in the remainder of the first term with Frank Ribery’s effort thwarted and Mkhitaryan attempt to place a dangerous cross, respectively, as the 45 minutes winded down with an underwhelming feeling of disappointments across the terraces.
Second Half
Tempers flared in the second half as both sides were anxious to finish the match within the 90 minutes.
Arturo Vidal was booked for an awful challenge only two minutes in the second half, while the referee Marko Fritz showed the total of six yellow cards during the entire 90 minutes.
Bayern Munich were the first ones to step up their efforts to break the duck with Robert Lewandowski taking a first-time shot on goal from inside the box only to see his half-volley go narrowly wide of the right post on 52 minutes.
Five minutes later we saw a response from Dortmund. Marco Reus picked out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who drove a shot just over the crossbar from the edge of the box.
Five minutes after the hour mark Robert Lewandowski was once again under the spotlight with his effort on goal from the edge of the box. Poland striker placed a shot just inches high over the bar.
Bavarians have been piling pressure in the closing stages of the regular time and it was Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki who received strong approval from the fans for his superb goalkeeping. He stopped the close-range effort from Franck Ribery pulling a magnificent save to prevent Bayern from scoring.
With nothing more to show off with, the two bitter rivals headed out to the extra-time with not much separating them for the entire 90 minutes.
Extra-time
Exhausting season and alike 90 minutes of the DFB Pokal have taken their toll with players of both teams struggling to finish the game at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
Misplaced passes, intercepted plays, lack of pace and somewhat slower tempo were all at display during extra-time which lacked much excitement apart from Henrik Mkhitaryan’s chance in the 103rd minute when he blasted the ball well wide of the left post ruining a great chance to earn a victory for his team.
Bayern Munich responded ten minutes later through Alaba who received the ball at the edge of the box and whipped it towards the bottom corner of Burki’s goal, but Dortmund keeper pulled an excellent save to continue his impressive display in the DFB Pokal final and turn out to be a hero for his side.
Penalties
The first ones to place the ball on the white spot were Borussia Dortmund, with Kagawa sending the ball to one side and Manuel Neuer to the other. Arturo Vidal was next and his shot glazed over Burki’s fingertips, but ended inside the net.
Manuel Neuer had no problems saving Bender’s terribly week shot towards the right post, while Papastathopoulous’ shot was met with the post to give huge advantage to Bayern Munich.
Kimmich’s terrible shot towards the middle of the goal restored faith to BVB, as Aubameyang struck to put the ball behind Manuel Neuer.
Muller and Reus were composed from the white spot, respectively, but so did Douglas Costa who struck in to place the trophy in Bayern Munich’s hands for a perfect farewell for Pep Guardiola.
BAYERN MUNICH: Neuer 6.5 – Lahm 7, Kimmich 7.5, Boateng 7, Alaba 7.5 – Alcantara 7 – Costa 7, Muller 6.5, Vidal 6.5, Ribery 6.5 (Coman 6) – Lewandowski 6.5
Unused subs: Alonso, Benatia, Bernat, Rafinha, Rode, Ulreich
BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Burki 7.5 – Piszczek 6.5, Papastathopoulos 7, Hummels 7 (Ginter 6.5), Schmelzer 6.5 (Durm 6.5) – Weigl 6.5 – Mkhitaryan 7, Bender 7, Castro 7.5 (Kagawa 6), Reus 7 – Aubameyang 7
Unused subs: Pulisic, Ramos, Sahin, Weidenfeller
REFEREE: Marco Fritz
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