Nothing beats a late goal, especially when it turns out to be the winner. That’s exactly what Thomas Linke experienced on 19 April 2000 when he headed Bayern to a 2-1 win in the third minute of injury time against Porto, sending the previous season’s finalists into the Champions League semi-finals once again. But the goal was just the tip of the iceberg in a crazy match.
Sergio puts Bayern on course
Bayern went into the second leg of their quarter-final against the Portuguese champions with injury concerns. Stefan Effenberg and Bixente Lizarazu both missed out at the Olympiastadion. Unperturbed, Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side raced out of the blocks and took a deserved lead in the 15th minute thanks to Paulo Sergio. The Brazilian had already scored a late equaliser for FCB in the 1-1 draw in Portugal.
Memories of the “mother of all defeats”
Bayern controlled the game after that but, of course, could still rely on Oliver Kahn in goal when needed. However, he was powerless in the 90th minute when Porto’s top scorer Jardel headed home a cross. The thought of extra-time caused great anguish and provoked memories of the painful final defeat the previous year against Manchester United. But Bayern threw everything forward one more time.
Linke from zero to hero
Referee Hugh Dallas awarded a free-kick on the right touchline in the 93rd minute. Mehmet Scholl took it, delivering a perfect cross into the box that was met by the head of Linke. It just had to be Linke. It was him who’d lost the key duel against Jardel just moments earlier, and he immediately made amends. The delight was clear to see as the defender became the hero of the day.
Read about some of Bayern’s most legendary knockout matches from that era:
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