Bayern Munich’s newest recruit Robert Lewandowski showcased his brilliance with a stellar solo effort as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Monchengladbach 5-4 on penalties in the Telekom Cup semi-finals after they scoreline was 2-2 at full time.
It was Lewandowski who was the most talked about player at the end of the match as he opened the scoring for the Bavarians through a cheeky chip after getting hold of the loose ball following a shot from Munich’s another new signing Sebastian Rode who was denied by Gladbach goalkeeper Janis Blaswich.
Lewandowski’s audacious chip
Line-ups
Bayern Munich: Starke - Martinez, Badstuber, Alaba - Rafinha, Bernat - Rode, Gaudino, Pizarro (Hojbjerg 35), Ribéry (Scholl 41) – Lewandowski.
Borussia M'Gladbach: Blaswich - Korb, Schulz , Dominguez , Wendt - Dahoud, Nordtveit - Hahn, Raffael, Traoré - Kruse.
Summary
The 25-year-old striker had moved to Bayern Munich on a free transfer from arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund after his contract ran out last season, following in the footsteps of his former Dortmund team-mate, and now Bayern Munich player Mario Gotze.
French winger Franck Ribery scored the other goal for the Reds, marking his return to action after recovering from the back injury that had previously ruled him out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, Max Kruse’s two goals from the penalty spot-kicks made sure that the tie wasn’t over just yet.
Going into penalties, Bayern Munich were successful in ultimately getting the better of Gladbach after goalkeeper Tom Starke made a crucial save to secure them their place in Sunday’s final against Wolfsburg despite a miss from Rafinha.
Franck Ribery’s goal
Max Kruse’s brace from two spot kicks
Penalty Shoot-out
(Gfycats via redditor firecracker123)