PL 16/17 Predictions Series: Manchester City

My new series looks at the participants of the latest Premier League season. For previous posts, see below:

Arsenal, Bournemouth, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Everton, Hull City, Leicester City, Liverpool

Last season

Despite a Champions League semi-final appearance, last season was ultimately one of disappointment for the Blues. A lighting fast start saw pundits blown away with the early form, but this quickly faded, leaving City floundering behind Leicester and challenging with their city rivals for the final Champions League spot, something only confirmed on the final day. A League Cup victory was scant consolation for the money invested, and the club's form following the announcement of Pep Guardiola's arrival will have concerned fans.

Backroom setup
As mentioned, in February 2016, Manuel Pellegrini made the announcement that Pep Guardiola, widely considered the greatest manager in the world, would be taking over at the Etihad in the summer. However, this had a dramatic impact on the club's form, with City falling from title contention to narrowly avoiding missing out on Champions League football. Guardiola's appointment was the end result of a long programme by City, which includes recent hirings of Barcelona' backroom staff, including Tiki Begiristain as Director of Football.

Pre-season
Guardiola has suffered a stop-start pre-season campaign, but the majority of their matches have been against clubs of the highest standard. City started with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Guardiola's old club Bayern Munich, before they embarked on their International Champions Cup campaign. After much debate over whether Guardiola would shake the hand of new Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho before their meeting, it all ended in an anti-climax as the match was abandoned due to bad weather.

However, Pep did manage to secure his first win with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Borussia Dortmund, following a 1-1 draw in normal time - a Sergio Aguero goal cancelled out by a last minute Christian Pulisic strike. Their final game was arguably their most disappointing, with a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal perhaps the most indicative of City's quality against their English rivals.

Squad and signings
After a slow start, City's activity has kicked into top gear in recent weeks, with seven signings to date. Youth has been a key focus for the club, with Spanish winger Nolito, signed from Celta Vigo for £13m, the only player over the age of 25. Ilkay Gundogan, the Dortmund central midfielder, became the first Guardiola signing for just £20m, while City made use of their links with Australian club Melbourne City to sign Aaron Mooy. With the only other signing, the young winger Aleksandr Zinchenko from Russian side Ufa, announced as we moved into August, the club has burst into life with a trio of signings in the space of four days. Winger Leroy Sane was signed from Schalke for £37m, while both Gabriel Jesus and Marlos Moreno joined from South America for a combined £31m.

The largest signing was, typically for City, English, with young centre back John Stones snared for an estimated £47.5m. While certainly an expensive purchase, much has been made of his likeness to past centre-back in Pep Guardiola's previous teams, including Gerard Pique - not faint praise indeed!

Despite the disappointment of last season, there have been relatively few outgoings from the club, despite many, including myself, predicting an exodus at the Blues. To date, only Martin Demichelis and Richard Wright have been released, as Guardiola seemingly looks to revive the fortunes of many of the current squad including Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling and Jesus Navas. While the omission of Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala has led to speculation over their futures, little concrete has been discussed.

Tactics
As Fabian Delph has pointed out in interviews, Guardiola has already had a significant impact on the playing style of the squad, with an increased emphasis on keeping possession and moving the ball around quickly. With players of the quality of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne on the ball, it's not like he hasn't got the talent to apply this, but it will be more interesting to see how City do without the ball, as it is defensively where they have often been found wanting.

Predictions
With youth being the key focus for the Blues so far this year, I just get the feeling this may be one step too far for a title win this season. They'll likely run the eventual winners close, but may have to settle for second. Expect them to only get stronger and stronger over the next three years, as Guardiola looks to replicate the success he had at Barcelona.

Final position: 2nd

Blue Move: They Won't Be Standing Alone

I'm getting the distinct feeling that success for Manchester City is cyclical at present, rather than consistent. Despite the positive stat of two titles in three seasons, the fact remains that each of their title defences have been woeful. And arguably, the situation that the side finds themselves in is worse than that under Roberto Mancini just two years ago, which ultimately saw the deposition of the Italian. Whereas Mancini finished second (albeit a distant second) to Manchester United in 2012/2013, and reached an FA Cup final (losing to Wigan), Manuel Pellegrini has struggled, slipping into a battle for Champions League qualification, while exiting both cup competitions early.

As a result, questions have been raised around the future of the manager and a number of the players come the summer. I suppose when you have the level of spending power that Manchester City has, this speculation is never far away, but how much is justified? And what should this re-shuffle look like?

I'll start with the outgoings, looking at who, where they may end up and, given the importance of the Financial Fair Play regulations, how much City may be able to recoup for them.

Goalkeepers
Richard Wright
Joined: Summer 2012
Fee: Free
Reason: Good for player development, but not one worth wasting more money than necessarily.
Where: Backroom coaching, maybe not at City, but somewhere
Price: Free

Defenders
Aleksandar Kolorov
Joined: Summer 2011
Fee: £17m from Lazio
Reason: A free kick specialist, but often found wanting defensively. Not justified his fee and time to move on.
Where: Italy or Germany are probable destinations - i'm sure Lazio would have him back for a reduced fee.
Price: £7.5m

Dedryck Boyata
Joined: 2008
Fee: Free (Academy)
Reason: He's been given plenty of time to develop at City, and has yet to show significant signs of progression. Not likely to be a first team regular in the future
Where: Mid-table Premier League is most likely, with the likes of Swansea, West Ham or Sunderland possible destinations.
Price: £3m

Midfielders
Fernando
Joined: Summer 2014
Fee: £16m from Porto
Reason: Has not been good enough either in possession or without. Constantly caught out and looks nothing like the £16m paid.
Where: Porto may be a preferred destination, but Russia or Shakhtar Donetsk could be options.
Price: £8m

Samir Nasri
Joined: Summer 2011
Fee: £25m from Arsenal
Reason: A shame, as I like Nasri, but he has flattered to deceive at times during his stay at the Etihad. All too often comes across as petulant and uncaring, which doesn't demonstrate commitment to the club.
Where: Valencia or Napoli may be possible options, while a return to his home nation may be another option.
Price: £15m

Jesus Navas
Joined: Summer 2013
Fee: £15m from Sevilla
Reason: His pace is outstanding, but his final ball is found lacking. A peripheral figure during his time at City, and I feel a return to Spain may be best.
Where: Given his previous home sickness, Sevilla may be the best destination.
Price: £10m

Yaya Toure
Joined: Summer 2010
Fee: £20m from Barcelona
Reason: Coming towards the twilight in his career. After an exceptional season last time, he simply cannot defend, and has not continued to hit the heights. Time to cash out.
Where: Inter Milan and Roberto Mancini have made their intentions very clear, with the below fee potentially mooted. City should take that now.
Price: £43m

Scott Sinclair
Joined: Summer 2012
Fee: £7.5m from Swansea City
Reason: A poor purchase made in a panic in the final days of a transfer window, Sinclair has not had a fair crack of the whip and would do best to move on.
Where: A mid table Premier League side. His loan spell at Aston Villa has looked to be a fruitful one, so I wouldn't bet against a permanent move.
Price: £5m

Strikers
Edin Dzeko
Joined: January 2011
Fee: £27m from Wolfsburg
Reason: Has shown glimpses of being a top striker, but not consistent. He can score a hat trick one week and be useless the next, and City cannot cope with this long term.
Where: The Bosnian has suitors in a range of different countries, and the likes of Roma, Atletico Madrid and Wolfsburg are all possibles. I would suggest that the latter would be his preferred destination, and they certainly have the cash to throw around.
Price: £15m

Stevan Jovetic
Joined: Summer 2013
Fee: £22m from Fiorentina
Reason: Has been hampered by injury during his time at City, meaning that he has yet to have a long run in the side. His removal from the Champions League squad was the final straw
Where: Juventus has been touted as a possible, but Italy certainly seems the likely country.
Price: £15m

Alvaro Negredo
Joined: Summer 2013
Fee: £16.4m
Reason: Unknown personal reasons meant that his stay in England was a short one.
Where: Valencia
Price: £25m

John Guidetti
Joined: 2008
Fee: Free (Academy)
Reason: Similar to Boyata, has had numerous loan spells and has yet to really hit the highest levels. Has performed well at Celtic, but I feel that is about as high as he is likely to go.
Where: Celtic is certainly possible, but he has enough interest from Holland and Europe to challenge this.
Price: £5m

Staff
Manuel Pellegrini
Joined: Summer 2013
Fee: Free
Reason: A real shame, as I think he's done a fantastic job. I would have to caveat this sacking, however. This should only happen if Pep Guardiola could be prised from Munich - no-one else would do.
Where: Probably back to Spain. The likes of Sevilla or Villarreal may be possibles, while the poor performance of Athletic Bilbao may give him a quick return.
Price: Free

Totals:
Players left: 12
Funds raised: £151.5m

Interestingly, you'll notice that I have not included either James Milner or Micah Richards in that list. With the new quotas proposed (read more about that here), City will need their English players to stay. Milner has continued to be one of their most consistent performers this season, and it would be a great shame to see him leave, while I still believe Richards' true talents were wasted, and that he is a good alternative to Mangala and Demichelis at centre back.

So, with a total of 12 players set to leave, who could City get to replace them? To answer that, you need to consult the financials. With Financial Fair Play having an increasing impact on clubs, breaking even is a must.

The most recent financial results show that City have continued to cut losses, with income also rising by over 22 per cent. The 2014 results show that City, minus the £16m penalty for contravening FFP laws, made a loss of just £7m. They are expected to make a small profit at the end of this financial year (May 2015), giving the club everything they bring in in fees to spend, as well as potentially a little extra.

With an estimated £150m to spend, who could be targets for City this summer as they look to regroup?

Defenders
Here I see minimal additions, with the emphasis likely to be on who they may be able to acquire fairly cheaply. A replacement left back may be an option to limit the impact from the exit of Aleksandar Kolorov, with AC Milan's Mattia De Sciglio or Southampton's Nathaniel Clyne possible. With the Italian side a shadow of its former self, and struggling financially, a deal could be struck for somewhere in the region of £10m. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich's centre back Dante could be available for a cut price, given that the Brazilian is currently playing second fiddle to Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng in the Bayern side, while failing to make his presence felt in the national team. I don't think this is particularly likely, but it is an option.

Midfielders
Here there will be considerably more movement. The big money move of Yaya Toure means that City need to recruit in the centre of midfield, while the likes of Nasri, Fernando and Navas have not quite lived up to expectation.

There have been rumblings of potential huge money moves, but it's whether City can afford to do them and focus on the Financial Fair Play. Juventus's Paul Pogba and Real Madrid's Gareth Bale have both been linked with a number of Premier League sides, City included, but any deal would surely be worth in excess of £60m for either. Also, it's worth noting that any of these big names are only likely to move to a side with Champions League football, so the remainder of this season is set to have a significant impact on the success over the summer.

However, City simply have to strengthen in the centre, and if Pogba does not become a significant target, then the likes of Ilkay Gundogan or Blaise Matuidi could provide a slightly cheaper options - and by that I mean about £35m. In terms of improving the English contingent in the squad, much has been made of City's pursuit of Everton's Ross Barkley, while contract stalling for both Raheem Sterling and Theo Walcott has led to speculation. However, as we have seen, English players often result in inflated prices, meaning that City may have to part with more cash than the players are worth.

Strikers

With three of the five current strikers expected to depart this summer, the need to strengthen in this area is crucial too. Here, I'd like to see a striker with strength and a quicker striker with proven goalscoring ability. For me, the likes of Gonzalo Higuain could be an option, though Napoli are hardly in a position where they need to sell. Similarly, the likes of Alexandre Lacazette or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be targets, but any of these would sure cost anywhere between £25m and £40m. However, I'd like to take a bit of a risk. With Radamel Falcao out of contract at Monaco come the end of the season, offering him an alternative to his appalling stay across the city may not be a bad idea - particularly for free.

Staff
As I mentioned above, it's a shame that Pellegrini is almost certain to be on his way, but in my eyes, there is only one manager in the planet that I would want. Pep Guardiola has achieved everything in the game in the countries he has managed in, and perhaps now is the time to renew old rivalries with Jose Mourinho. What do you say Pep?

Who I Would Get:
Mattia De Sciglio - £10m
Ilkay Gundogan - £35m
Raheem Sterling - £25m
Paul Pogba - £60m
Radamel Falcao - Free
Alexandre Lacazette - £25m
Pep Guardiola - £10m
Total - £165m

Proposed Manchester City 2015/2016 squad:
Joe Hart, Willy Caballero, Gael Clichy, Mattia De Sciglio, Karim Rekik, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis, Eliaquim Mangala, Micah Richards, Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, Paul Pogba, David Silva, James Milner, Marcos Lopez, Bruno Zuculini, Wilfried Bony, Radamel Falcao, Alexandre Lacazette, Sergio Aguero

I mentioned at the start of the article that success at City seems cyclical at present, using this as a negative. If you'd have offered me that ten years ago, I'd have bitten your hand off! However, with the money invested, and (potentially) the squad above available to them next year, they may have built a team capable of achieving consistent success.

UEFA Super Cup 2013: What A Difference A Year Makes

                                  What a difference a year makes... 8742 little hours... After their complete obliteration at the hands of Atletico Madrid, and in particular Radamel Falcao, in the UEFA Super Cup in 2012, Chelsea this time lined up against Bayern Munich for the same trophy last night. Unlike last year, in which Chelsea had started the night as Champions League champions, and favourites, last night the Londoners began as distinct outsiders, and Europa League holders. With Bayern Munich sweeping all aside on their route to the Champions League title last year, and with the highly sought-after Pep Guardiola now at the helm, there were few that suggested that Chelsea would realistically win. However, with Mourinho back at his spiritual home, Chelsea were quietly confident. And history was on their side...

                                    Last May, Chelsea were in a vastly similar position, in which they lined up against a heavily favoured Bayern Munich side. This was not for the UEFA Super Cup, but for the most impressive European accolade available, the Champions League. Further supporting Munich's tag of favourites was the fact that they were playing on home soil, at the Allianz Arena. The early predictions looked fairly accurate, as the Bavarians set about their English opponents. Chances came and went, with Olic, Gomez and Robben all coming close, with the latter rapping the post with a low drive. Chelsea offered little in the way of forward motion, with Solomon Kalou having their best opportunity. However, as the game moved towards the last ten minutes, Bayern upped the pace, which paid off almost immediately. Toni Kroos placed an excellent cross to the far post, which was met by Muller. His downwards header bounced off the floor and into the roof of the net, handing Bayern a valuable 1-0 lead. With time ticking down, Chelsea won a corner. Another fantastic delivery from Juan Mata found Didier Drogba, who powered the header past Manuel Neuer to send the game into extra time.

                                       In extra time, the pattern of Bayern dominance continued. Just 5 minutes into the extra period, a poor challenge by Drogba on Franck Ribery earned the Bavarians a penalty. However, Robben's spot-kick was poor and easily saved by Cech. The rest of the extra time was tight and uneventful, meaning that the game went to the lottery of a penalty shootout. After Bayern scored their first, Mata could only find Neuer, handing the Germans the advantage. The next four penalties were all scored, including one by Manuel Neuer himself. Ivica Olic was the next man up, but his tame penalty was saved by Cech to his left. After Ashley Cole levelled the match at 3-3, Bastien Schweinsteiger would take the critical penalty. The Bayern captain could only hit the post, meaning that Drogba had the chance to win the Champions League for Chelsea. The Ivorian striker, who had already agreed to move to China with Shanghai Shenhua, knew that this would be his last kick as a Chelsea player. Placing the ball confidently, he sent Neuer the wrong way to win the trophy for the Londoners. Just one year and a few months later, few would see the replay being as similar.

                                         However, it is worth examining the recent history of this Super Cup. Bearing in mind the reputation of the respective competitions from which the two clubs qualify, you would always expect the Champions League winners to be victorious in these games. However, if we look at the last ten matches in the Super Cup, the record is much more even than would be anticipated. Based on the last 10 editions, including last night, the score is Champions League 5 Europa League 5. Even more startling is the fact that the winner has alternated between the Champions League winner and Europa League winner for the last 10 years. Particularly surprising results over the last decade include the 2006 final, in which Sevilla demolished a Ronaldinho inspired Barcelona side 3-0. The 2010 final was also shocking, as the Jose Mourinho managed Inter Milan side was comprehensively beaten by Atletico Madrid, with goals from Forlan and Aguero condemning Mourinho to his second Super Cup defeat. It remains the only trophy that Mourinho has competed for and not won. Last year's final also involved Atletico, as they destroyed the Chelsea side 4-1, with a first half hat-trick from Falcao.

                                           With the evidence of the last decade, it should not have come as too much of a surprise that Chelsea performed admirably during last night's encounter. From the beginning, they made it clear that they would not simply defend, and that they were highly capable on the break. This was proven just 8 minutes in, as a lightning fast counter from Eden Hazard found new-boy Andre Schurrle. The German's cut-back fell neatly into the path of Fernando Torres, who expertly volleyed past the helpless Neuer. Every year there is speculation over whether the Spaniard would reclaim his form, but this finish implies that form is temporary but class in permanent. After the goal, Chelsea had to withstand some heavy pressure from the German champions, but they continued to pose a threat on the break. As the half-time break drew close, Brazilian midfielder Ramires picked up a silly yellow card for a challenge on Ribery, which would come back to haunt him later. Nevertheless, the English side managed to hang onto their lead going into half-time.

                                              Mourinho's team talk would have been very much along the lines of 'keep going, and do not concede early'. But this team talk went out of the window within two minutes of the restart. After a good attacking start, Chelsea lost the ball to Franck Ribery. He jinked inside a couple of defenders before unleashing a powerful shot. Though the shot was close to the goalkeeper, and error by Cech allowed the ball to fly off his hands and into the net to level the scores. Chances then came by for both sides, with Oscar wasting the best one for the Londoners. However, the game turned after 85 minutes. After a poor touch, Bayern substitute Mario Gotze went into a challenge second favourite with Ramires. The Brazilian's challenge was robust, and arguably two footed, leaving the German prostrate on the floor. This prompted a second yellow card for the midfielder, leaving Chelsea in trouble. The remainder of the match took place in Chelsea's half, with long range shots peppering Cech's goal. But the breakthrough did not come, meaning that another 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, and another 30 minutes of extra time.

                                                  Extra time started with a bang for the English side, as they reclaimed the lead just three minutes into the extra period. Eden Hazard, who had dominated the Bayern defence all game, managed to skip inside of Phillip Lahm and fire a shot towards goal. Similarly to Bayern's goal, questions must be asked about the goalkeeper, who failed to deal with the shot, allowing it to fly past him. Having claimed the lead, Chelsea then decided to shut up shop, defending deeply and requiring their goalkeeper to redeem himself. And that he did, making stunning saves to deny Mandzukic from point blank range. As time ran out, the shots were coming in from long range, and Bayern had resorted putting crosses into Chelsea's box. It looked impossible to break through the wall of blue defenders, until the very last kick of the game. A hopeful ball was flicked on by Mandzukic to the feet of Javi Martinez, and the Spanish international managed to beat Cech at his near post to ensure that the contest went to penalties.

                                                     Remembering the events of May 2012, both sides would have been well aware of each other. This time, the penalties began with 8 consecutive successful penalties, taking the contest effectively into sudden death. After Xherdan Shaqiri found the net (just) for Bayern, the weight fell onto the shoulders of Romelu Lukaku. After a stuttering start, the penalty was weak, and easily saved by Neuer. This ensured that Bayern earned revenge on their English opponents, and claimed the Super Cup, retaining the incredible alternating run between Champions League/Europa League clubs. Chelsea will take solace in the fact that Bayern are currently considered the best team in the world, and Chelsea were within one kick of beating them. This will not prevent the agony for Lukaku and the rest of the squad, but it does show just how far the Londoners have come.

2013 Champions League Final: Who Needs Guardiola?

            London was invaded by Germany tonight, with an estimated 150,000 making their way from the continent. Their intention: to watch arguably the most prestigious game in European football, the Champions League final. Hosted at Wembley for the 2^nd time in three seasons, Europe’s most valuable tournament has once again provided twists, turns and plenty of shocks on the way to the finale. After a gruelling 9 months of European competition, only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were left standing, giving the first ever all German Champions League final. My earlier blog post ‘Germany 11-3 Spain’ asks whether this indicates a significant shift away from the traditionally dominant Spaniards, as this season more than many others has seen German clubs coming to the fore. In the German league, Munich romped away to claim the title in early April, ending a full 25 points clear of their nearest rivals, Dortmund. This gave them the tag of comfortable favourites going into this final, though as we have seen in recent Wembley and Champions League finals, that tag ultimately means nothing.

 

                As far as each of their Champions League campaigns are concerned, both have had to do it the hard way. Borussia Dortmund in particular, as they were involved in what had been labelled the ‘Group of Death’, with the league champions from each of Spain, England and Holland as their opponents. Dortmund performed above all expectations in the group stages, finishing as group winners. A tricky tie against Shakhtar Donetsk followed, with a nervy 2-2 draw in Ukraine being followed up by an emphatic 3-0 home win to see the Germans through. The pivotal moment in the whole of Dortmund’s campaign came in the Quarter Final against Malaga. After a dull 0-0 draw in Spain, the Germans fell behind twice in the return leg, only for Dortmund to stage an injury time comeback, reminiscent of Manchester United’s famous 1999 final success over Bayern Munich, to win 3-2. A 4-1 home demolition of the great Real Madrid in the Semi Final first leg made the world sit up and take notice, and whilst the Germans had to withstand an anxious last ten minutes, they held firm to qualify for their first Champions League final since 1996.

 

                Bayern Munich, in comparison, had arguably a far easier group. Nevertheless, they still had to win it, which they did (albeit on results between themselves and Valencia), setting up a Last 16 game against Arsenal. A brilliant 3-1 win at the Emirates set themselves up nicely, only to nearly collapse in the return leg, being lucky to progress on away goals after a 0-2 defeat. A more comfortable victory in the Quarter Final followed, with the Bavarians winning both legs 2-0 to set up a semi final with Catalan giants Barcelona. An astonishing home leg scoreline, as the Germans blew the favourites for the title away, winning 4-0. Even more astonishing was the result the following week, as Munich went to the Nou Camp and thoroughly outplayed the Spaniards, winning 3-0 to cap a resounding 7-0 aggregate victory and taking them into their second consecutive Champions League final. Jupp Heynckes, the Munich manager, having already led his side to resounding victory in the league, can justifiably feel hard done by, having been given his notice in January to make way for Pep Guardiola from the start of this season. The prospective treble seemed like the perfect leading present, and the best way to show the Munich board that they may have made the wrong decision in replacing him.

 

                In the weeks leading up to the final, bad blood erupted between the two clubs, as Bayern announced the signing of Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze for the start of the following season. This led to a slanging match in the press over the course of several days, with insults being thrown from both camps. This was exacerbated by a league game between the pair, where Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp had a major disagreement with the Bayern bench, almost coming to blows on the touchline. Further Munich pursuits of Dortmund talisman Robert Lewandowski further stoked the atmosphere before the Wembley final, where Munich would be desperate to avoid the heartbreak dished out, at the Allianz, against Chelsea in last season’s final.

 

                 The game began at a ferocious pace, with Dortmund pressurising the ball at every opportunity. Thanks to this, Dortmund looked the more dangerous of the two sides in the opening half hour, with firstly Lewandowski, and then Marko Reus testing Manuel Neuer. Sven Bender also found himself in space in the Munich area, but the defensive midfielder failed to connect properly, allowing Neuer to collect comfortably. After this, Munich found their feet, with Mario Mandzukic’s header being brilliantly kept out by Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller. After this, the two best chances of the first half fell to Arjen Robben. The first came to him rather fortuitously, with a deflected pass putting the Dutchman in. Unfortunately for the Bavarians, Robben could only hit the big Dortmund keeper. A similar outcome just a few minutes later, with a slip by Mats Hummels letting in the usually predatory Robben, but once again, the face of Weidenfeller prevented the winger from breaking the deadlock. Robert Lewandowski’s late chance showed that Dortmund were by no means out of the contest, but the first half ended goalless.

 

                The second half began in vastly the same way as the first, with Dortmund pressurising Munich’s every move. However, unlike the previous half, they failed to create any decent openings, leaving Mario Mandzukic to tap Munich into the leader after some good work from Arjen Robben. The goal shocked Dortmund into action, and just 8 minutes later, they had a chance to respond. A clumsy Dante challenge on Marko Reus gave Ilkay Gundogan the chance to level matters from the spot. The German, replacing Lewandowski as penalty taker after the Pole’s miss in the league game against Neuer a few weeks ago, made no mistake, sending the Bayern keeper the wrong way. After this, the game became increasingly stretched, with chances arriving thick and fast at both ends. A brilliant Neven Subotic goalline clearance prevented Bayern’s Thomas Muller from putting the Bavarians back into the lead, before Robert Lewandowski had a stunning 30 yard strike correctly disallowed for handball. However, as the game entered the final ten minutes, Dortmund were under increasing pressure from the German champions. Eventually, the pressure told, as Robben got on the end of a clever Ribery through ball to slide the ball past Weidenfeller and send the crowd behind the Dortmund goal wild. With only two minutes to go, Dortmund had no time for a response, meaning that Bayern collected their fifth European Cup.

 

                 Having successfully exorcised their demons from last year’s final, Bayern Munich ran out deserving winners at Wembley tonight. Over the course of the season, they can certainly make a claim to being Europe’s best club, a claim that is only strengthened with the addition of this silverware. A fantastic way for Jupp Heynckes to sign off as Munich manager, and with a domestic cup final still to come, the prospect of an historic treble looms large. Certainly a herculean task for Pep Guardiola to reproduce, and a decision that Bayern bosses will now be wondering about.