FIFA Club World Cup Final Report: Bayern Munich 1 - 0 Tigres
Kingsley Coman of FC Bayern Munich celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League Final match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on August 23, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Bayern Munich were crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions on Thursday evening following a 1-0 victory over Tigres in Doha.
An unmarked Benjamin Pavard hammered the ball into an empty net to give the Bavarians the win, which completes a clean sweep of silverware for the club in 2020.
In a tradition of the Club World Cup, the European dominated both possession and chances. An attack of Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, and Robert Lewandowski repeatedly danced their way through the compact Tigres penalty area, but were denied by the finest of margins.
Bayern thought they took the lead through a sensational goal from Joshua Kimmich. The midfielder, from 25 yards out down the inside-right channel, shot into the bottom left. Seconds from the celebration the referee went to VAR, and the goal was ruled out because Lewandowski was blocking the view of goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán.
Tigres, who are the first team from North America to reach the final of the FIFA Club World Cup, breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Guido Pizarro, who played against Bayern for Sevilla in the quarter finals of the 2017/18 Champions League, had a tame effort from outside of the box which trickled right into the hands of Manuel Neuer.
Minutes into the second half, Kingsley Coman dribbled through to the byline and curled the ball in for Sane. The former Man City winger leaped up and his header looped over the cross bar.
The breakthrough for Munich came from a Kimmich cross. Lewandowski beat Guzman in a midair duel and ball drops down to Pavard who fired into an empty net. At first the goal was given offside due to a stray hand by Lewandowski, but this was overturned after a review by VAR.
Tigres stormed forward in search of an equalizer. This was their third game in the competition, and the second one they fell behind in. Unlike their quarter final clash with Ulsan Hyundai, André-Pierre Gignac and Carlos González could not find a way through and the game quickly fizzled out.
In the dying moments Bayern had a number of half chances. Choupo-Moting twisted free in the box and as he tried to square the ball, Carlos Salcedo intercepted. Douglas Costa laid the ball off for Choupo-Moting who was facing goal, but his shot went well over.
The victory is Munich’s second success in the FIFA Club World Cup, and their fourth world club crown, after their previous adventures in the Intercontinental Cup.
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Benjamin Pavard, Niklas Süle, Lucas Hernandez, Alphonso Davies Joshua Kimmich, David Alaba, Leroy Sané (Jamal Musiala 73’), Kingsley Coman (Douglas Costa 73’), Serge Gnabry (Corentin Tolisso 64’), Robert Lewandowski (Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting 73’)
Subs not used: Lukas Schneller, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, Bouna Sarr, Marc Roca, Tiago Dantas.
Tigres: Nahuel Guzmán, Luis Rodríguez (Julián Quiñones 80’), Diego Reyes, Carlos Salcedo, Jesús Dueñas, Javier Aquino, Rafael Carioca, Guido Pizarro, Luis Quiñones, Carlos González, André-Pierre Gigna.
Subs not used: Juan Pablo Chávez, Mexico Arturo Delgado, Hugo Ayala, Juan Sánchez, Aldo Cruz, Francisco Meza, Érick Ávalos, Jordan Sierra, Leonardo Fernández, Raymundo Fulgencio, Patrick Ogama.
Referee: Esteban Ostojich
About Dylan O'Connell
Dylan is a freelance journalist based in Cork. He joined Extratime in 2016 and he covers games all across Ireland. His bylines include The Echo, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, The 42, RTÉ Sport, and Irish … View Full Profile