Bayern Munich on their way to lift
the trophy for fifth time in front of their home crowd at Allianz Arena, Munich
while Chelsea is hunting for their maiden Champions League triumph, it has been
the second appearance for Chelsea in the Champions League final.
It may seem that Jupp Heynckes men have been handed a major advantage, playing
what is effectively a dream home match to determine Europe’s elite club this
season.
Both the teams are here after knocking out two super opponents in the semis,
Bayern have beaten the most successful club in Champions League history, nine
times champion Real Madrid while Chelsea are here after winning the battle
against the current champion & arguably world’s current best team
Barcelona.
However,
this will bring added expectation and pressure to a situation that will already
be filled with nervous tension. It could produce a very cagey affair if there
is no early goal for the hosts, as Chelsea are likely to sit back and play to
their own counter-attacking strengths, even more so than if the final were held
in a neutral venue.
Both the
teams have lost in their previous Champions League finals. The Bavarians lost
to Inter Milan in 2008 while the Blues were lost against Manchester in 2008.
But the only previous meeting between these two sides saw The Blues overcome The
Bavarians 6-5 over two legs in the quarterfinals in 2005.
It can be a
Hilarious task for Chelsea men to defeat the Bavarains in Allianz Arena but
regarding their current form it has to be told that Chelsea is the better
opponent for tonight’s final. The Blues have won the FA cup against Liverpool
while the Bavarains lost to Borusia Dortmund in German cup final by a clear 2-5
margin.
Both the teams
are going to miss few of their key players in tonight’s final due to card
problem, the hosts will miss Holger Badstuber, David Alaba & Luiz Gustavo
while the visitors will also miss their captain John Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires
& Meireles.
Chelsea’s away
form in the Champions League has been excellent since interim manager Roberto
Di Matteo took charge of the team in mid-March. In his coaching Chelsea started
their dreamrun by overturning the game against Napoli following a first leg 3-1
defeat in round of 16, they overturned the game in quarter stage against
Benfica following an 1-0 defeat in first leg. The Blues only conceded 2 goals
at the Nou Camp after playing with 10 men for over an hour in the semifinal was
impressive.
Bayern are
very similar to Barca in that they like to dominate possession, while Chelsea
will undoubtedly hold a very deep defensive line to counter the threat of
Bayern’s pace and trickery on the wings in the form of Franck Ribery and Arjen
Robben. The Dutchman will have a tough time getting the better of Chelsea
left-back Ashley Cole though the England defender is consistently one of
Chelsea’s best performers when it comes to the big occasions.
Chelsea have
also shown, in the Premier League, that when they travel away to face teams
full of high quality players who like to play the ball quickly and keep
possession (Arsenal and Tottenham), they revert to a very defensive formation
and mentality. At White Hart Lane they grabbed a 1-1 draw while at the
Emirates Stadium the game finished goalless.
Bayern Munich
have produced a clean sheet in half of their Champions League games this
season, precisely because of their ability to keep hold of the ball. They have
also recorded an under 2.5 goal result in 9 out of the 14 matches. Mario Gomez
tops the list of scoring most goals with Lionel Messi, both scored 12 goals in
that tournament.
The two
biggest stars of the night in Munich, and potentially the main reason this game
could end in under 2.5 goals being scored, is the respective goalkeepers of
both clubs. Manuel Neuer’s first season as Bayern’s No1 has been a resounding
success, culminating in the penalty shoot-out heroics in the semi-final against
Real Madrid, and proving him to be one of the world’s best, alongside Iker
Casillas and Gigi Buffon.Chelsea’s Petr Cech must also be considered on the
shortlist of Europe’s finest Keepers, and he may need to be at his very best to
keep the Bayern attack at bay on Saturday night.
Bayern seems
stronger as we take a look on their previous champions league
records. They are four time European cup winners which included 1 time European
Champions league title. (Champions league and European league are alike until
Champions league was revised in 1992.) Altogether they have entered
the final for 8 times, 4 times they had to satisfy with runner up. Their last
defeat at final included a 2-0 loss against Inter Milan in Santiago Bernabou due
to poor referring by Englishman Howard Webb.
Chelsea has
never experienced the taste of Champions league win. Their best performance on
Champions league ever was in 2008, Moscow when
they experienced defeat in the final against Manchester United in
Penalties following a sent off of their superstar Didier Drogba in the dying
moments of the game. In the schedule time two teams were unable to take the
game to decision even after the extra period of time and the score was 1-1.
Later Chelsea experienced loss in a 6-5 penalty goals in front of
67,000 audience.
Route to Final (knock out stages): Bayern Munich
Round of 16:
Basel 1-0 Bayern, Bayern 7-0 Basel
Quarter Final:
Marseille 0-2 Bayern, Bayern 2-0 Marseille
Semi Final:
Bayern 2-1 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 2-1 Bayern (Bayern won 3-2 on penalties).
Chelsea:
Round of 16:
Napoli 3-1 Chelsea, Chelsea 4-1 Napoli (AET)
Quarter Final:
Benfica 0-1 Chelsea, Chelsea 2-1 Benfica
Semi Final:
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona, Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea
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