Prague: Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved a penalty by substitute Romelu Lukaku to give Champions League winners Bayern Munich a 5-4 victory over Chelsea in a shootout on Friday to claim the UEFA Super Cup, after the game finished 2-2 following extra time.
Ten-man Chelsea looked on the verge of victory after Eden Hazard made it 2-1 in extra time but substitute Javi Martinez equalised with the last kick of the game to force the shootout. All nine players converted their penalties before Lukaku stepped up, and Neuer dove to his left to keep the shot out.
Fernando Torres had given Europa League winners Chelsea an early lead with a fierce volley, before Franck Ribery equalised two minutes into the second half with a hard shot that seemed to catch Petr Cech by surprise.
Bayern won their first Super Cup in the club's fourth attempt, earning a first trophy with the team for new coach Pep Guardiola. "It's the first time, we're proud of that," Guardiola said. "We played unbelievably good football. I'm so happy with our performance."
Guardiola took over Bayern after a one-year sabbatical, and the team has started the German season strongly by picking up 10 points out of a possible 12 in the Bundesliga. "[The victory] is great for the entire team but it means even more for the coach," Ribery said.
Chelsea were left a man down when Ramires was sent off in the 85th minute after receiving his second yellow card for a rough tackle on substitute Mario Goetze. That decision clearly upset Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho who was trying to get an explanation from referee Jonas Eriksson during the break before extra time.
Mourinho has never won the Super Cup while it was the third victory for his fierce rival Guardiola who also won it with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. Mourinho, who had promised that his second spell with Chelsea will be calmer than when he was in charge in 2004-07, said he was "disappointed."
"My opinion is that the best team lost," he said. "The team that more deserved to win lost. But that's football. Sometimes, it happens in football."
Mourinho and Guardiola faced each other in series of testy 'clasicos' when the Portuguese coach was with Real Madrid, and their tense relationship brought an extra level of intensity to this Super Cup. The contest that pits last season's Champions League winners against the Europa League champions is often seen as lacking prestige, but it was clear from the start that both teams badly wanted to win this game. And Guardiola, unsurprisingly, clearly disagreed with Mourinho. "Yes, the better team has won," he said in German.
Mourinho complained the sending off of Ramires influenced the result and suggested that referees in the Premier League would not have given a player a second booking in such a case. "Football is 11 against 11," Mourinho said. "Eleven against 10, it's more easy for the team with 11 and more difficult for the team with 10."
Throughout the match, Bayern were dominating possession while Chelsea relied on what Guardiola on Thursday called Mourinho's most dangerous weapon: quick counters.
Torres, who returned to the starting line-up after beginning on the bench against Manchester United on Monday, started the quick move leading to the opening goal. He passed to Eden Hazard who produced a strong run through the middle of the field before finding Andre Schurrle on the right flank, who squared for Torres to net with an unstoppable right-foot volley from inside the area.
A day after winning the UEFA 'Best Player in Europe' award for the 2012-2013 season, Bayern midfielder Ribery looked dangerous throughout and equalised two minutes into the second half with an swerving drive from outside the area. He also had a shot just wide two minutes after scoring the goal and again in extra time. He also missed the target three times in the first half. In the 22nd minute, he almost restored parity, forcing Cech into a brilliant diving save with curling low shot.
Three minutes into extra time, Hazard picked up the ball on the left flank and cut into the area, leaving two defenders behind before unleashing a powerful drive past Neuer for what looked likely to be the winner.
Cech then pulled off a series of stunning saves as Bayern pressed relentlessly for an equaliser - until Martinez slotted in from close range with the very last kick of extra time.
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