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Bayern Munich 1 Chelsea 1 (Chelsea win on penalties)
Having disposed of Barcelona, Chelsea travelled to Munich and beat Bayern on penalties to win the Champions League. The hosts, who were guilty of some poor finishing in the first half, scored with 7 minutes remaining when Thomas Müller got on the end of a cross at the far post to head the ball down and in off the bar, but with 2 minutes left Didier Drogba met a corner-kick with a bullet of a header to force extra time. Bayern Munich were awarded a penalty 3 minutes into extra time when Drogba tripped Ribbery, but 2 minutes later when the penalty was finally taken, Cech got down to save from Robben and keep the match level. The penalty shootout started badly for Chelsea with a miss from Mata, but with all other penalties converted, Cech saved from Olic and Schweinsteiger struck the post for Drogba to step up and send Neuer the wrong way, rolling the ball into the left corner for the winner.
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Atletico Madrid 3 Athletic Bilbao 0 (Europa League final, Bucharest 9 May 2012)
Radamel Falcao added 2 more goals to his European tally as Atletico Madrid won the all-Spanish Europa Cup final in Bucharest with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. With only 7 minutes of the match played, Falcao curled the ball magnificently into the top corner, and in the 34th minute the Colombian dragged the ball back in the box to turn and fire past Iraizoz in the Madrid goal. Atletico Madrid pushed forward after the break and were hit on the counter-attack by Falcao whose effort came off the post in the 80th minute, but 5 minutes later Diego dribbled his way into the box and side-footed the ball in at the far post to kill the game off and secure the Europa Cup for Atletico Madrid.
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Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1 FA Cup final (Wembley 5 May 2012)
Didier Drogba struck again at Wembley as Chelsea lifted the FA Cup at Liverpool's expense. The Londoners look the lead in the 11th minute when Ramires burst forward and fired past Pepe Reina at the near post and doubled their lead 7 minutes after the break when Lampard found Drogba in the box who dispatched the ball into the far corner. In the 64th minute Liverpool sub Andy Carroll picked the ball up in the box, composed himself and thumped it into the roof of the net to give the Reds hope. With 8 minutes left Petr Cech pulled off a great save pushing Carroll's powerful header onto the underside of the bar as Roberto de Mateo's team held on to lift the FA Cup denying Liverpool their 2nd trophy of the year.
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England 2 Netherlands 3 (Wembley friendly 29 February 2012)
England fought back from 2 down but were denied a draw as Arjen Robben completed his brace with a last gasp winner. With Stewart Pierce in charge as caretaker manager, England's experimental team created a positive impression with some slick passing but without an end result until 2 goals in as many minutes for the Dutch just before the hour-mark gave England more urgency. In the 57th minute Robben ran from inside his own half and unleashed the ball into the bottom corner from just outside the box and a minute later Klaas Jan Huntelar hammered in a header resulting in head injuries to himself and Smalling. With 5 minutes left England reduced the deficit when Gary Cahill got into the box, dragged the ball back and side-footed it under Stekelenburg in the Dutch goal and a minute into injury time England were level when Ashley Young received a swift pass from Phil Jones and dinked the ball past the keeper to find the far net, but a minute later Robben controlled the ball in the box and curled it past Hart with the help of a slight deflection for the winner.
Read about other matches on the same day
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Liverpool 1 Cardiff 1 extra time 2-2 Liverpool win on penalties (Carling Cup final Wembley 26 February 2012)
Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool got their hands on the Carling Cup after winning a penalty shootout against Cardiff at Wembley. Glen Johnson curled the ball onto the underside of the Cardiff bar in the 2nd minute but it bounced away from goal and Gerrard blasted it over and in the 19th minute Joe Mason received the ball from Miller and slid it between Reina's legs to give Cardiff the lead which they held onto until the hour-mark when Suarez headed Carroll's header onto the post and Martin Skrtel turned in the rebound. With 2 minutes remaining Miller turned in the box but whacked the ball over the bar from 8 yards out and the match went into extra time. Suarez had his header cleared off the line 2 minutes after the restart and in the 108th minute Dirk Kuyt's misplaced shot was cleared back into his path and the Dutchman's sliding shot found the back of the net. Kuyt cleared off the line at the other end in the 118th minute but Liverpool failed to clear from the ensuing corner and Ben Turner forced in the equaliser. In the penalty shootout Tom Heaton made a brilliant one-handed save from Steven Gerrard, Kenny Miller struck the post and Charlie Adam blasted the ball into the crowd before Kuyt, Downing and Johnson converted for Liverpool. But with Gestede hitting the base of the Liverpool post and Whittingham scoring for Cardiff it was Anthony Gerrard who stepped up for the Welsh side to send his spot kick wide and hand Liverpool the Carling Cup.
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In an emotional night Zambia lifted the Africa Cup of Nations in memory of the 1993 Zambia team lost in an air crash close to the match venue. The Zambians started dangerously with a low corner in the 2nd minute resulting in a snap shot from Sinkala that Barry did well to get down and smother. The Ivoirians also had chances with Yaya Toure drilling wide after a clever backheel from Drogba on the half-hour mark, but it was Drogba himself who missed the best chance of the match when he blazed his 70th minute penalty over the bar, and when substitute Max Gradel rolled the ball past the far post with 2 minutes to go, the match went into extra-time in which Zambia came inches away from scoring when Chris Katongo's close effort in the 95th minute was pushed onto the post by the outstretched foot of keeper Barry. After 5 perfect penalties each including a retake from Ivoirian Bamba that was initially saved by Mweene, the shootout went to sudden death and with Kolo Toure having his penalty saved and the next penalties from Kabala and Gervinho going over the bar, Sunzu stepped up to convert the winning penalty and spark wild celebrations and scenes of jubilation.
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Manchester United 3 Manchester City 2 (Wembley 7 August 2011)
Manchester United overcame a 2 goal deficit with 3 in the 2nd half against their city rivals to win the Community Shield at Wembley. Manchester City took the lead in the 38th minute when a free-kick was delivered onto the head of Lescott who flicked the ball past De Gea in the United goal, and City doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when Dzeko beat De Gea with a deceptive daisy-cutter from 30 yards out. United pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute when Smalling latched onto a Young free-kick to steer it past Hart, and within 6 minutes after some delightful one-touch passing Nani received the ball and swept it past Hart to draw United level. Johnson tested De Gea in the 76th minute but in the 4th and last minute of stoppage time Nani picked the ball up on the midway line, raced on to round Joe Hart and roll in the winner for Manchester United.
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Uruguay 3 Paraguay 0 Copa America final (Buenos Aires, Argentina 24 July 2011)
Diego Forlan scored twice as Uruguay outplayed Paraguay to lift the Copa America with a convincing 3-0 win in Buenos Aires. Paraguay were lucky not to have fallen behind as early as the 2nd minute when Villar saved brilliantly from Lugano's thumping header and Piri kept the ball out by handling the rebound without paying the penalty, but after 10 minutes of further pressure Suarez received the ball in the box, dragged it onto his left foot and put Uruguay ahead in off the far post. Forlan was foiled by Villar in the 33rd minute but 3 minutes before the break Arevalo robbed a Paraguayan defender and teed the ball up for Forlan to fire past Villar. After the interval Paraguay ventured briefly into their opponent's half and in the 54th minute Muslera tipped a sweet volley from Haeldo Valdez onto the bar, but Villar who was the busier of the 2 keepers made another excellent save to keep Eguren's deflected shot out in the 74th minute. Paraguay looking for a late consolation goal allowed Uruguay to launch a swift counter-attack with Cavani finding Suarez who headed the ball into the path of Diego Forlan to slot past Villar and put the icing on the cake.
Read about the 2011 Copa America
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Japan 2 USA 2 aet, Japan win on penalties Women's Wold Cup final (Frankfurt, Germany 17 July 2011)
Japan lifted the women's World Cup in Germany after twice coming from behind to force extra- time and penalties against the U.S.A. Wambach broke free and hit the Japanese crossbar with a thunderous shot in the 28th minute and 4 minutes after the break Japan scrambled the ball away after Morgan's effort came off the post. Kaihori tipped Wambach's header over the bar in the 64th minute and 5 minutes later the deadlock was broken when Alex Morgan got on the end of a long ball dispatching it into the corner of the net, but with 10 minutes remaining the Americans failed to clear a low cross and Miyama poked the ball home to take the match into extra time. Wambach's thumping header a minute before the break in extra time once again gave U.S.A. the lead but the tireless Japanese rallied on and with only 3 minutes of the match left Homare Sawa flicked the ball in at the near post from a corner kick. Iwasimizu was shown a straight red for a desperate challenge just outside the box in the dying seconds and the World Cup final had to be decided on penalties. With the Americans failing to convert 3 spot-kicks it was Kumagai who stepped up to send the decisive kick into the top left corner and land Japan the 2011 women's World Cup.
Read about the 2011 women's World Cup
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Mexico 2 Uruguay 0 Under 17 Wold Cup final (Aztec stadium, Mexico City 10 July 2011)
Mexico won the under 17 World Cup by beating Uruguay 2-0 in a packed Aztec stadium. The hosts took the lead just after the half-hour mark when a cross from the right was headed back at the far post for Antonio Briseno to volley in with a side-footer from just inside the 6 yard box, and despite Uruguay hitting the post twice, it was Mexico who played quick neat football until the end when in stoppage time Gonzales broke through and squared the ball for Giovani Casilias to force past Jonathan Cubero and confirm victory for the young Mexicans.
Read about the 2011 under 17 World Cup
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USA 2 Mexico 4 Gold Cup final (Pasadena, California 25 June 2011)
In a pulsating final Mexico came from an early 2 goal setback to once again show superiority over their northern neighbours and lift the Gold Cup on American soil. The Americans had suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Panama but reached the final by getting past Canada 2-0, Guadeloupe 1-0, Jamaica 2-0 and Panama 1-0 in the semi-final while Mexico swept aside El Salvador 5-0, Cuba 5-0 and Costa Rica 4-1 before getting the better of Guatemala 2-1 and defeating Honduras 2-0 in extra time to reach the Pasadena final.
The U.S.A. took the lead totally against the run of play when Michael Bradley met a corner-kick with a glancing header in the 8th minute, and despite bombarding the American goal, Mexico fell further behind in the 23rd minute when Dempsey played Donovan through to double the lead with a clinical finish, but 6 minutes later Barrera raced onto a long ball from Hernandez to knock it past Howard. Mexico drew level in the 36th minute when Dos Santos cut in from the right and fired in a low shot which was blocked by Goodson only for Guardado to toe-poke under the body of keeper Howard, and 5 minutes after the break Barrera curled in a low shot past Howard with the outside of his right foot to give Mexico the lead. Giovani dos Santos sealed the win for Mexico 14 minutes from time when he dribbled the ball away from a frantic Tim Howard to float it exquisitely over the heads of the American defenders into the top corner
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Barcelona 3 Manchester United 1 Champions League final(Wembley 28 May 2011)
Spanish champions Barcelona produced another sublime performance to brush Manchester United aside at Wembley and lift the European Cup. Manchester United started well and dominated the first 10 minutes of the match but Barcelona began to control the game and took the lead in the 27th minute when Pedro lost his marker to receive a pass from Xavi and stroke the ball past van der Sar at the near post. Barcelona were ahead for only 7 minutes when Rooney interchanged with Giggs and side-footed the ball into the top corner, but the Catalan side showed their class in the 2nd half and in the 54th minute Messi curled a low ball past van der Sar from outside the area. And in the 69th minute after another typical run from Messi the ball fell to David Villa who curled it into the top right corner past the diving van der Sar to put the match beyond United and secure Barcelona the European Champions League title.
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Porto 1 Braga 0 (Europa League final, Dublin 18 May 2011)
A goal from Radamel Falcao was enough to win Porto the 2011 Europa League against Braga in Dublin. The prolific Colombian striker got on the end of a cross to head the ball past Artur and put Porto ahead with his 17th goal of the competition a minute before the break. Braga had a clear chance less than a minute after the interval when Mossoro broke through, but he was denied by the outstretched leg of Helton in the Porto goal. Despite a more competitive 2nd half, neither side managed to threaten their opponent's goal sufficiently and Porto picked up their 3rd title of the season with the Portuguese Cup final against Vitoria Guimaraes still to come.
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Japan 0 Australai 0 (1-0 aet) (January 29)
Tadanari Lee scored an extra-time winner against Australia to give Japan their 4th Asian Cup. Both teams defended efficiently enough to ensure a goalless first half, but Australia came close 3 minutes after the break when a cross troubled the Japanese keeper and was cleared off the line. Kewell had an excellent chance to break the deadlock when he ran onto his own header to face Kawashima in the 72nd minute but the keeper stuck out a foot to block his effort, and with 3 minutes remaining the Japanese keeper was quick off his line to once again deny the Australian danger man. Kawashima was at full stretch in the 103rd minute keeping out a Robbie Kruse header, but in the 109th minute Nagatomo delivered a delicious cross from the left flank to the unmarked Lee who found the corner of the net with an exquisite volley for his first international goal and Japan's Asian Cup winner.
Read other match reports
Click here for 2010 FIFA World Cup match reports 
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