Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller scored extra-time goals to give Bayern Munich the German Cup with a 2-0 victory over rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
After the first 90 minutes finished goalless, Robben broke the drought in the 107th minute before Mueller added a second in stoppage-time.
The win saw coach Pep Guardiola finish his first season in charge of die Roten with four trophies: the Cup, the Bundesliga title, the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
Photo: AFP
“When a team wins the German league title, it’s already been a good season,” the Spaniard said. “That was the most important title, but of course we are very happy that we have won the [German] Cup.”
Bayern lifted the German Cup for a record 17th time to claim the domestic league and cup double, with the Champions League trophy the only title to evade the Bavarian giants this season.
Yet Guardiola admitted he deserved the criticism he got in the wake of Bayern’s 4-0 home drubbing by Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final second leg.
“The criticism was quite justified, I did things I shouldn’t have done,” he said. “I made mistakes in our playing style and tactics against Real, but things like that can happen in big games against big clubs.”
Having also netted the late game-winner in Bayern’s Champions League final against Borussia in London last year, Netherlands winger Robben again broke Schwarzgelben hearts.
“We were finished at the end,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, who was left fuming after television replays showed a second-half Mats Hummels header crossed the line, but was not given.
“We tortured ourselves and gave everything. In the phase when we were stronger, we scored a goal, which wasn’t given,” Klopp said. “That should have been seen [by the referee] even without goal-line technology.”
There was no fairytale finish for Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who had promised to finish his four years at Dortmund by lifting the German Cup before joining Bayern next season.
This was the fourth and final time that Germany’s top two sides met this season and both teams finished with two wins a piece.
It was a nervy, tense affair in front of a 71,967-capacity crowd at Berlin’s sold-out Olympiastadion, which included US actor Tom Hanks, who is in the German capital filming his latest movie, A Hologram for the King.
Guardiola opted to play a new 3-4-3 system and included 18-year-old midfielder Pierre-Emile Hoejbjerg, who was making only his 11th first team appearance.
Bayern made a bright start as Mueller and Robben both forced Dortmund captain and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to pull off some early saves.
There were worrying scenes ahead of next month’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil when Bayern’s Germany captain Philipp Lahm limped off with half an hour gone to be replaced by Franck Ribery.
The Bayern bench said Lahm took a knock to the fibula, but it was not serious and he is expected to be OK in time for start of Germany’s training camp on Wednesday.
Hoejbjerg squandered a great chance with half time approaching, while at the other end, Lewandowski cannoned a shot over the bar just moments later.
Both teams had clear chances in the second, with Mueller’s point-blank shot smothered by Weidenfeller on 56 minutes, as at the other end, Dortmund defender Mats Hummels’ header was saved off the line on 64 minutes by Bayern’s Dante.
After the game went to extra-time, Robben broke the drought when he fired home before Mueller rounded Weidenfeller just before the final whistle to seal Bayern’s successful Cup defense.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS