What a game!
When you thought Roberto Di Matteo’s amazing run of luck might end, he pulls another miracle out of the bag.
Chelsea were clear outsiders before the game at 5/2 while Bayern were clear favourites, playing at their home stadium.
And as the game progressed Bayern Munich created chance after chance after chance after chance. But Chelsea’s game plan was (just about) working by the skin of its teeth.
Robben, Ribery, Gomez and Muller all had guilt-edged chances throughout the game but failed to take them. But they got what they deserved with 8 minutes to go, when Muller scored from a fortunate header.
After all their attacking possession, Bayern thought that goal was the winner and celebrated as such.
But Didier Drogba and Chelsea had other ideas.
With 2 minutes of normal time remaining, Chelsea, from their first corner of the game, and their second attempt on target, scored with a Drogba bullet header.
The goal literally came from nowhere and with luck like that you just knew Chelsea were going to grind out some kind of result.
And when Robben stepped up to take a penalty in extra-time, Chelsea again had luck when Petr Cech made a save and the ball stayed under his body and went into his arms.
If this wasn’t going to be Chelsea’s year, it never will be.
And with the penalties, Chelsea were at one point 3-1 on spot kicks.
The Champions League Final between Bayern and Chelsea is one of the most unbelievable games I have ever witnessed.
Chelsea should have been dead and buried long before the 90 minutes were up but it goes to show what heart, determination and guts can achieve.
Congratulations to Chelsea, and when I watch big games I always like cheering for the underdog. Maybe it’s something about defying the odds, but I was pleased that Chelsea won tonight.
I know most Arsenal fans hate Chelsea, John Terry and the fact they’re the first London club to win the Champions League, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter a huge amount. Arsenal are years away from even thinking about lifting that trophy and you can’t rely on other teams in London not to win it, all we can concentrate on is trying to win it ourselves.
Ever since Villas Boas got sacked, Chelsea have been intriguing to watch. God knows how they’ve turned it around but they looked like ending up with nothing and yet have won the FA Cup, Champions League and secured a place in Europe’s top competition next season. What they have done is nothing short of remarkable and I don’t care who you support, that has to be admired.
I wonder how ‘Arry Redknapp is feeling tonight. Robbed of the England job by Roy Hodgson, and now of Champions League football by Chelsea. It’s not been a good few months for the medias favourite drinking buddy.
And how about Villas Boas? What Chelsea have achieved since he left the club shows how overrated he really was. But I’m sure he’ll still get a job at one of Europe’s top clubs.
I do feel sorry for Bayern though, they were the better team, created the clearer chances but in the end they just bottled it. They lacked composure at the vital times and had so many chances to kill the game off. In a way, it was similar to the Blackpool v West Ham play off final, where Blackpool should have been home and dry well before the hour.
But that’s football and Roberto Di Matteo has shown us all that he really is the special one.
Tactical genius? Luckiest man alive? Whatever it is, Di Matteo shouldn’t be worried about whether he gets offered the Chelsea job on a permanent basis, Chelsea should be worried about him getting a better offer from elsewhere!