European and German champions Bayern Munich were crowned club world cup champions on Thursday after defeating Mexico’s Tigres UANL 1-0 on Thursday thanks to a solitary strike from Benjamin Pavard in the second half.
The win earns them their sixth trophy in less than nine months.
About 12,000 spectators were allowed into Qatar’s Education City Stadium and they were duly entertained as Pavard scored in the 59th minute following a VAR review after Tigres ‘keeper Nahuel Guzman had stopped a Robert Lewandowski header.
The Germans, who also hit the woodwork twice, won all domestic and European titles they competed for in 2020 also became the first team to match Barcelona’s sextuple from 2009.
Hansi Flick who became Bayern Munich’s coach in November 2019 also made it his sixth trophy since he took charge of the Bavarians.
Tigres, who were the first North American club to reach the final, were pegged back by the high-press of the Bayern side throughout and only rarely managed to venture into Bayern’s half.
Bayern has now won the last eight consecutive finals after clinching the club’s second Club World Cup title after their 2013 success.
Watch the highlights of the match below
Al Ahly clinched third place at Club World Cup after beating Palmeiras
African side Al Ahly defeated South American champions Palmeiras after their third-place play-off ended goalless to equal their best-ever finish at the Fifa Club World Cup.
Captain and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy was the hero on the night for the Egyptian side, saving Felipe Melo’s penalty to ensure that the African champions won 3-2 in Qatar.
El Shenawy had also saved Rony’s tame effort earlier while Luiz Adriano missed the target, with Ahly also missing through Amr El-Sulaya and Marwan Mohsen.
Junior Ajayi scored for Al Ahly in the second half but his goal was narrowly ruled out for offside, while El-Sulaya could have done better with a first-half effort which he dragged wide.
The match went straight to penalties as there was no extra-time at the end of the game.
“From the start of the tournament, we all promised that every player will give his maximum effort in order to achieve a good position,” El Shenawy said after the game.
“Thankfully all our efforts paid off and we managed to win the bronze medal.”
“We had a great game and we fought very hard to win the medal. Our coaching staff analysed Palmeiras very well. Every player in the team only focuses on doing what is best for the whole team. Everyone fought very hard to win the bronze medal.”
The record nine-time African champions’ previous best performance at the Club World Cup came in 2006 when they also finished third.
Wow. Congrats to Al Ahly.