This was a match both team needed to win to prove a point, but there can only be one winner, one Champion. Bayern Munich have lost the Garman League to Borussia Dortmund, the Garman Cup (known as DFB-Pokal) to same team they ended the season as second best so winning the Champions League would have mean a great deal to them. Chelsea did not even win anything at home and are no where near their traditional 2 or 3rd position which means they won't be playing in the Champions League next season if they lose. And this is perhaps the last opportunity for players like John Terry, Didier Drogba, et al to win something for the club, something that the club has done before, winning the Champions League. a lot was a stake for both clubs and the players knew this.
Manuel
Neuer 6.5
Dealt
comfortably with a Kalou effort in the first period, during which he was barely
employed. The German had a little more to do after the break, and on one
occasion he flapped at a cross, allowing Kalou a sight on goal. Blocked Mata's
penalty and scored his own, but it was not enough.
Jerome
Boateng 6.0
Needlessly
conceded a first-half free kick in a dangerous area, providing Chelsea with
their best sight of goal in the opening 45 minutes. Was never significantly
tested, such was Bayern’s dominance.
Philipp
Lahm 6.5
Raided
down the right-hand side of the park in a dangerous manner, providing a useful
attacking outlet when Chelsea sat deep. Was never tested defensively as
Bertrand never offered a threat down his channel.
Diego
Contento 6.5
Attacked
sensibly from his left-back role, getting forward dangerously to deliver a
superb centre that was shot wide by Muller. When he was required to defend, he
did his job excellently.
Franck
Ribéry 6.5
Made an
inauspicious start to the match with a fresh-air kick as he attempted to deliver
a cross into the box. Despite this unpromising beginning, he was typically to
the forefront for Bayern’s attacking efforts but he badly lacked end product.
Thought he had opened the scoring, but he was denied due to having strayed
marginally offside and then won the extra-time penalty Robben missed.
Arjen
Robben 5.5
Will be
remembered for his extra-time penalty miss. Injected his influence onto this
game in dangerous bursts, bustling through the Chelsea defence on 21 minutes to
draw an excellent stop from Cech. He was an equal danger after the break,
taking up menacing positions around the box when Bayern broke, but squandered
too many opportunities to hurt the opposition.
Bastian
Schweinsteiger 6.5
His first
major contribution was to be booked in the second minute for deliberate
handball, but thereafter the Germany international provided a reliable platform
from which the Bavarians launched their countless attacks. Missed what proved
to be the decisive penalty.
Toni
Kroos 6.5
The young
midfielder continues to enhance his reputation, and though he was by no means
perfect in this clash, making the odd poor decision as he tried to prompt a
goal, he enjoyed a solid display.
Anatoliy
Tymoshchuk 6.0
Before
the match, he was pinpointed a weak spot, but he was infrequently troubled in
any form by the Chelsea attack, who were light on numbers when they went
forward. Dealt well with one searching second-half cross into the box.
Thomas
Müller 7.0
Thought
he was the hero when he opened the scoring with a firm downward header in the
closing 10 minutes. Was generally contained well by the Chelsea midfield on the
whole, but when he was given space to raid into on the counter, he did so with
purpose. Volleyed narrowly wide in the first half.
Mario
Gomez 4.0
A
penalty-box striker supreme, he failed to show anything like his best form.
Missed two excellent first-half chances, electing to take touches in the box
and thereby allowing defenders to close him down when a first-time shot may
well have yielded a goal. Continued in this vein over the course of a
frustrating evening, on which he simply froze. Did well to recover and score
his penalty.
Substitutions
Daniel
Van Buyten 5.5
Came on
for Muller as Bayern tried and failed to see the game out at the end of normal
time.
Ivica
Olic 6.0
Came on
for the injured Ribery in extra time and provided much energy, but missed his
penalty.
Petr Cech 7.0
Certainly
the busier of the two goalkeepers, the Czech Republic international made a fine
reaction save from Robben midway through the first half but more pertinently
saved Robben's extra-time penalty. Controlled his box impressively, taking
pressure off his defence by showing an appetite to gather crosses. Had little
chance with Muller's goal and again came up trumps in penalties.
Ashley
Cole 7.0
Did well
to thwart a dangerous Bayern attack early in the second half, blocking a
potentially lethal cross from Robben and then denying the Dutchman as he pulled
the trigger from a dangerous position. Stood up well to the threat of Robben
and Ribery, with the duo threatening most down the opposite flank. Showed anticipation
unparalleled in the Blues’ defence, yet ironically it was his concentration
lapse that cost his side the opening goal. Scored in the shootout.
David
Luiz 6.0
Shrugged
off injury to feature in Europe’s greatest club match, and at times he appeared
to be lacking in sharpness, reacting slowly to a throw in early on from which
Bayern nearly scored. This rather set the tone for an encounter in which the
Portuguese did not look comfortable, although he did step forward to score his
penalty.
José Bosingwa 5.0
Nearly
scored an embarrassing own goal midway through the first half when Frank
Lampard played him an awkward pass along the six-yard box. After a strong
start, he allowed several dangerous forays down his right side.
Gary
Cahill 5.0
On more
than one occasion, Gomez escaped the England centre-back’s clutches, and had
the striker played to his potential, he would have been severely punished. Did
seem to be a little hampered by his recent hamstring worries.
Ryan
Bertrand 4.5
Became
the first player in the Champions League era to make his debut in the final,
yet the 22-year-old made very little impact indeed in this encounter. Even the
odd clever bit of movement was unable to get him involved in an attacking
sense, though he was dogged at the back.
Frank
Lampard 6.0
Asked to
perform a more defensive role than he is accustomed to, the England midfielder
was almost nonexistent as an offensive threat. Worked hard in front of his
defence, but would have wanted a greater influence in this match. Emphatically
converted from the spot.
John Obi
Mikel 6.5
The
Nigerian was strong in front of Chelsea’s defence, sweeping in front of the
rearguard and disrupting Bayern’s attacks through the centre on a regular
basis.
Juan Mata 5.0
Showed
glimpses of his technical excellence but the Spaniard was a completely
peripheral figure in this encounter. On the rare occasion Chelsea attacked in
numbers, the ex-Valencia man looked dangerous, but this occurred on only a
couple of times. Missed his penalty, summing up his evening.
Didier
Drogba 7.0
Scored
the decisive penalty to cap a memorable evening during which he produced a
typical Didier Drogba performance at the head of Chelsea’s attack and levelled
the game late on with a stunning header. His work rate was phenomenal,
providing good defensive cover and working as a useful platform from which the
Blues could mount their infrequent attacks. Silly challenge on Ribery to
concede an extra-time penalty that Cech saved.
Salomon
Kalou 5.0
Was given
an advanced role in the midfield, but showed tremendous naivety at times,
squandering dangerous counterattacking opportunities by wandering needlessly
offside. Did make up for this with Chelsea’s best effort of the first half,
though this was saved.
Substitutions
Florent
Malouda 5.0
Came into
the fray with less than 20 minutes remaining as he replaced Bertrand. Failed to
make
Failed to
make much of an impact.
Fernando
Torres 6.5
Came on
as Chelsea were chasing the game in the closing minutes of normal time. Looked
very lively.
much of an impact.
Fernando
Torres 6.5
Came on
as Chelsea were chasing the game in the closing minutes of normal time. Looked
very lively.
No comments:
Post a Comment