Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (second right) celebrates with team-mates after scoring a goal against Al Ahly in the second semi-final. PIC: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Doha: Coach Hansi Flick expressed his satisfaction after Robert Lewandowski’s brace fired Bayern Munich into the final of FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 final, keeping intact their chances of lifting a record-equaling sixth title this season.
Lewandowski scored one goal apiece in each half as the European champions defeated Egypt’s Al Ahli 2-0 in the second semi-final on Monday at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, a Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup venue.
“We lived up to our billing as favourites and deservedly advanced to the final,” Flick said after the victory.
“We wanted to have the ball, we were in control, we’d have liked to double the lead earlier. We were clearly in command in the first half, we could have scored more goals,” he added.
The German giants will take on Tigres UANL in title clash tomorrow at Education City Stadium.
Ricardo Ferretti’s Tigres created history when they became the first Mexican club to reach the event’s final after a stunning 1-0 victory over Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras in the first semi-final at Education City Stadium on Sunday.
“Tigres are very athletic, they deservedly went through to the final. We’ll prepare for it and we want to win the title. If we succeed the team will have rounded off a phenomenal season with a sixth title. It would be an outstanding success, even in FC Bayern’s extraordinary history,” he added.
Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich said his team was not at its best against Al Ahly but said they were the deserving winners against the African champions.
“The first 30, 35 minutes were okay, really. Then we made too many mistakes and had to run more. That wasn’t ideal. Overall, we moved the ball around without going for goal and just maintained possession. Al Ahly came out of the break well. The bottom line is that it wasn’t a brilliant performance, but the win was deserved,” he said.
Al Ahly eye third position
Following loss to Bayern, Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane urged his players to learn from mistakes and go all out for victory against Palmeiras in third position play-off to be played at Education City Stadium, tomorrow.
“Bayern are number one in Europe. They didn’t allow us to have the ball for a long time. We rarely had the chance to play our game. We must learn from the mistakes we made against Al Duhail SC and FC Bayern Munich before facing Palmeiras, as we are keen to win the bronze medal,” said Mosimane.
“The game against Palmeiras will not be easy. They are a strong team and have many good players and we must prepare well for the match against them in order to achieve the bronze medal,” he added.
Al Ahly captain Mohamed El Shenawy said: “Congratulations to Bayern. It was a great game. We tried to implement our strategy. I think we gave a good account of ourselves. The team played well. We played against the European Champions League winner. We can learn a lot from this for the future.”
