Berlin: Pep Guardiola celebrated a dramatic final victory as Bayern Munich coach on Saturday, as his side beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on penalties to win the German Cup final.
Neither side was able to find the net in 120 minutes of football, but Dortmund missed two penalties in the shootout to give Bayern victory in and provide Guardiola with a seventh and final title in Germany before he heads to Manchester City.
Guardiola, so often accused of being too emotionless during his time in Munich, broke down in tears as Bayern celebrated. “Anything can happen in a penalty shootout, so we are delighted,” Guardiola told Sky after the game.
“It has been an amazing three years at this club. I will miss the players so much.”
It was also an emotional evening for Mats Hummels, too. The Dortmund captain will move to Bayern this summer after eight years with Borussia.
Hummels’ farewell ended early, as he fell victim to cramp and was replaced by Matthias Ginter in the 79th minute. Bayern had the better chances in the first half. Thomas Mueller fired a speculative shot over the bar early on, before doing the same with a header 20 minutes later.
Both sides struggled to free themselves from a hard-fought midfield battle, however. Several Dortmund counter-attacks came to nothing, while Bayern searched in vain for the decisive final ball. Only on the half hour mark did the game truly spark into life.
