Lewandowski shoots Bayern München into Club World Cup Final
German giants FC Bayern München find themselves one win away from a historic six-trophy-year. Only Pep Guardiola's 2009 FC Barcelona Side has ever managed the feat.
Another victory enables the team to add the FIFA Club World Cup to their German League Championship, German Cup Championship, UEFA Champions League Championship, and DFB/UEFA Super Cup Championships.
A 2-0 defeat of CAF Champions Al-Ahly Cairo sets the UEFA representatives up for a final showdown with CONCACAF Champions UANL Tigers de Monterrey of Mexico on Thursday.
For the first time since their UEFA Super Cup match in Budapest during late September, German record champions FC Bayern München played in front of a live audience. Twelve-thousand fans were allowed into the newly refurbished Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar to watch the FCB take on African Champions League winners Al-Ahly Cairo.
Another victory enables the team to add the FIFA Club World Cup to their German League Championship, German Cup Championship, UEFA Champions League Championship, and DFB/UEFA Super Cup Championships.
A 2-0 defeat of CAF Champions Al-Ahly Cairo sets the UEFA representatives up for a final showdown with CONCACAF Champions UANL Tigers de Monterrey of Mexico on Thursday.
Bayern trainer Hans Dieter Flick deviated little from his standard tactics. A slightly more compact-looking 4-2-3-1 relied on the joint defensive work of Joshua Kimmich and the increasingly more used Marc Roca. Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry worked the wings behind Robert Lewandowski and ahead of Thomas Müller. Benjamin Pavard and Alphonso Davies flanked David Alaba and Jerome Boating in the defensive chain.
It took approximately twelve minutes for the FCB to find their feet. A very strong five-minute spell between the 12th and 17th was capped by an easy Lewandowski finish to open the scoring. Gnabry supplied the layoff some eight meters out. After Manuel Neuer left his net to sweep out a solid counter chance in the 21st, the Egyptian club was able to generate very little in terms of offensive danger.
Roca, Davies, and Lewandowski all missed out on opportunities to extend the lead before the initial 45 concluded. Bayern lost some off their pace after the restart, but their opponents were not able to take advantage of the less fluid play. A flood of substitutions beginning in the 62nd interrupted the flow of the match to the extent that neither side was able to gain an upper hand.
The German team was finally able to double the advantage in the 85th. Lewandowski ensured the win and a grabbed a brace five minutes from time. Substitute Leroy Sané crossed in for him from the right and the Polish superstar was able to head in at the far post.
In the evening's other match, UANL Tigres de Monterrey surprisingly eliminated CONMEBOL Champions Palmeiras Sao Paulo 1-0. This means that the FCB will face another heavy underdog in the final match on Thursday evening.
The non-favoured side can nevertheless count on the support of the crowd. Most of the 12,000 fans in attendance were firmly behind Al-Ahly in this fixture.
German sporting publication SportBild offers free-streaming of the Thursday final to all without the need for a subscription.