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FOOTBALL

Bayern defeat Dortmund in Wembley thriller

Arjen Robben scored a heart-stopping 89th-minute winner to earn Bayern Munich a dramatic 2-1 win over German rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday after a thrilling Champions League final at London's Wembley Stadium.

Bayern defeat Dortmund in Wembley thriller
Photo: DPA

With extra time beckoning, Robben collected a back-heel from Franck Ribery, eluded the challenge of Mats Hummels and rolled a delicate shot past Roman Weidenfeller to give Bayern their fifth European crown.

It was a moment of long-awaited deliverance for both Bayern and Robben, after defeats for the Bavarians in the final of the competition in 2010 and again in 2012, when they lost a cruel penalty shoot-out to Chelsea on home soil.

Robben had set Bayern on the way to victory after an hour of the first all-German final when he teed up Mario Mandzukic for the opener, only for Ilkay Gundogan to equalise from the penalty spot in the 68th minute.

Victory made Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes only the fourth manager to win the trophy with two different clubs, after a 1998 triumph with Real Madrid, as he prepares to step aside for incoming successor Pep Guardiola.

Having already claimed the German title, Bayern will now look to complete an unprecedented treble by beating Stuttgart in the German Cup final next weekend.

There was no second title for 1997 winners Dortmund, but Jürgen Klopp’s side more than played their part on a night of gripping drama in front of 86,298 fans at the home of English football.

The player who had generated the most column inches in the weeks leading up to the game was in the stands for kick-off; a hamstring injury having denied Mario Götze a farewell appearance for Dortmund before his €37-million move to Bayern.

His transfer was the latest show of strength from a side who romped to the Bundesliga title by a record-breaking 25-point margin, but Bayern were left looking like the underdogs as Dortmund flew out of the blocks.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had to save from Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Marco Reus and Sven Bender, before Bayern finally came to life when Weidenfeller tipped a Mandzukic header onto the bar.

Javi Martinez sent a header onto the roof of the net from the resulting corner, but the best chances of the first half both fell to Robben.

On the half hour, Thomas Müller’s pass sent him clean through on goal, but the angle was prohibitive for a left-footed player and Weidenfeller rushed out swiftly to make a sprawling save.

The Dutchman found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat again moments before half-time when the ball fell kindly for him in a tussle with Hummels, but Weidenfeller stood up bravely and blocked with his face.

In between, Neuer produced a superb last-ditch block to thwart Lewandowski, who had deftly rolled Jerome Boateng from a Reus pass, as the play passed from one end to the other at breathless speed.

It looked as if another major final was set to pass Robben by, but on the hour he atoned for his earlier misses by creating the opening goal.

Ribery rolled a pass towards the byline and Robben evaded the offside trap by a matter of inches before nudging the ball beyond Weidenfeller and crossing for Mandzukic to hook the ball home from a yard.

Dortmund might have been forgiven for feeling deflated given their first-half exertions, but instead they drew level.

Dante was penalised for an untidy high foul on Reus inside the area and Gundogan steered his penalty into the bottom-right corner to send the hordes of yellow-shirted fans behind Neuer’s goal leaping from their seats.

Moments later, Dortmund were indebted to a breathtaking piece of defending from Neven Subotic, who slid in to hook Müller’s goal-bound shot off the line as Robben closed in for a tap-in.

But Bayern continued to push, Weidenfeller repelling fierce strikes from David Alaba and Bastian Schweinsteiger, before Robben tiptoed through the Dortmund defence to score a famous late winner.

AFP/mry

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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