The Sportspedia
Bayern Munich consecrated its great season by achieving the sextuplet (local League, Cup and Super Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup), by defeating Tigres 1-0 in the Club World Cup Final.
It was known before the game that this would be a memorable final: either it would be the biggest surprise in the history of a Club World Cup or it would see the consolidation of the best season in history for a club.
Bayern have had many games in which they start losing. Surely aware of this, this time they pressed from the start and clearly dominated Tigres, who also came out well looking to raise the game.
The Bayern forwards had a couple of errors in the small area that saved the Tigres in the opening minutes. But at 18 ‘Kimmich (DEU) scored the first goal of the game, from a little outside the area but the ball brushed against Lewandowski (POL), who was in a clear offside and was therefore annulled.
Bayern kept bombing. Salcedo (MEX) was swept away on a play at 24 ‘where four Bayern players ran together in a counterattack against three Tigres defenders as the ball went to striker Lewandowski. A minute later Nahuel Guzmán (ARG) parried a shot.
At 28 ‘the Tigres made a play reaching the area but it seemed as if they did not know what to do with the ball when trying to get it. Bayern returned and Dueñas (MEX) scored well against Sané (DEU).
Tigres continued to play at their semi-slow pace compared to Bayern, who continued to move closer consistently. At 59 ‘Lewandowski scored in a shot where he found himself alone on the ball after a block from Nahuel, which left the goal free. It had originally been marked as an offside but after a VAR review the goal was determined.
This goal should have been nullified as well. There was a clear offensive handball that was not seen by the referees. A terrible mistake.
At 74 ‘they made three changes at Bayern and managed to defend effectively without the need to close all spaces. The best Tigres had was at 81 ‘, when Gignac (FRA) tried to turn around in the area but did not make the shot.
But they came closer to scoring an own goal just a minute later. Salcedo (MEX) returned the ball to Nahuel, who was ahead of the goal and barely saved her on the line.
Nahuel continued to stop the Bavarian team’s shots at port and managed to endure a very worthy 1-0 against the best team in the world, which closed a performance for decades: it is the first time that a team has won all the Champions League and Club World Cup games en route to the Championship.
