It was a historic night at the Allianz Arena, when Didier Drogba converted his penalty to end Chelsea FC’s long wait for glory and turned Bayern Munich’s dream final into a nightmare. Chelsea’s dramatic 4-3 victory on penalties ended Bayern’s dreams of lifting the trophy in the own backyard.
The Germans took full control of the match from kick-off and it seemed like Bayern would utilize the home advantage to their favour. Bayern held the upper hand, but they failed to capitalise until Thomas Müller headed in with just seven minutes remaining.
Munich fully erupted after Müller’s goal and Bayern fans in the stadium, at the public viewings around the city and on the streets were full of joy with their dream almost coming true with only a few minutes left on the clock. But the celebrations were brought down by a powerful header by Ivorian international Didier Drogba in the 88th minute.
The match went into extra-time and when Petr Cech kept out Arjen Robben’s penalty in the 95th minute, the match took a mental u-turn in favour of the EPL side. The match moved into a penalty shoot-out and Drogba sealed the fate.
The disappointment was huge in the city of Munich. Fans were crying, looking at each other without any emotion. The celebrations and football carnival turned into agony and silence. Bayern fans were hoping for some European glory after their last UEFA Champions League title in 2001, but it was Chelsea who clinched their first-ever title.
The day after the final is a day of mourning in Munich and other parts of the country. The shock of losing the final at home will be felt for several weeks, while some Bayern stars need to turn their focus to the UEFA EURO 2012 now. But it remains doubtful, if these players will be able to come back strongly after going down in a historic final.
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