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.
Striker 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.
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.
If 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.
It 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.
Robben 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.
