Dortmund thrash Bayern to secure double
Reuters - Saturday 12 May 2012, 21:46
Bundesliga champions Borussia
Dortmund further challenged Bayern Munich's hold over German
football on Saturday by crushing their rivals 5-2 with a treble
by Poland's Robert Lewandowski to lift the German Cup and land
their first double.
It was Dortmund's fifth straight win over Bayern, who were
at full strength ahead of next Saturday's Champions League final
against Chelsea, as they staked an even bigger claim to take
over from the Bavarians as Germany's dominant domestic force.
Shinji Kagawa fired Dortmund into a third-minute lead after
a double defensive blunder by Luiz Gustavo, before Dutchman
Arjen Robben levelled with a penalty in front of more than
75,000 fans at Berlin's Olympic stadium.
Mats Hummels' penalty in the 41st minute restored Dortmund's
lead and their top scorer Lewandowski struck either side of the
break and again after Bayern winger Franck Ribery briefly cut
the deficit with a sensational low drive in the 75th.
"We at Dortmund could not have imagined a better final," the
club's beaming coach Jurgen Klopp told reporters.
Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl lifted the trophy to mark
his side's first German Cup triumph since 1989 as his team mates
cheered wildly with German president Joachim Gauck sucked into
the celebrations.
"We were ice cold in our execution, scored great goals. It's
difficult to put into words what we're feeling at this moment,"
said Klopp after his first German Cup victory as a coach.
Dortmund, who have now won the Cup three times, also beat
Bayern in the race for the league title, earning a record 81
points as they clinched their second successive Bundesliga crown
earlier this month.
"We should not be complaining as our overall defensive
behaviour was catastrophic," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told
reporters. "We have to accept that we did not deserve to win.
But now we have a different target in our sights and until the
Champions League final we will recover from the shock."
"That will be a completely different game," said Heynckes.
EARLY LEAD
It took Dortmund only three minutes to send their
yellow-clad fans into a frenzy when Jakub Blaszczykowski pounced
after Gustavo twice gave away possession and cut the ball back
to Kagawa, who scored on what could be his last game for
Dortmund.
The hugely gifted 23-year-old Japan international, who said
he would decide whether to move to the English Premier League
after the final, tapped home from close range with Manchester
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the stands.
Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller brought down Mario Gomez
in the 24th minute and Robben converted from the spot to make
amends for his penalty miss in their league clash last month.
But any hopes of a confidence-boosting result ahead of the
Champions League final in Munich were undermined when Bayern
reject Hummels scored with a penalty in the 41st after defender
Jerome Boateng brought down Marcel Schmelzer.
Lewandowski then struck in first half-stoppage time, picking
up a Kagawa pass to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The Poland forward, who notched 22 league goals this season,
was again on target in the 58th as Dortmund ripped through an
error-prone Bayern defence almost at will.
Ribery struck 15 minutes from time after Mario Gomez earlier
hit the bar but yet another Bayern mistake, with Neuer dropping
the ball in the box, led to Lewandowski's third goal from an
easy header for a memorable end to Dortmund's successful season.