Borussia Dortmund are the winners of the FC Bayern Legends Cup. The Black-and-Yellows, who were knocked out in the semi-finals by FC Bayern Legends in the Franz Beckenbauer Cup last year, defeated Real Madrid Leyendas 3-2 in the final. Holders Bayern had to settle for third place. fcbayern.com rounds up the action from SAP Garden.
Group A: Bayern Legends secure top spot
Sebastian Giovinco had the honour of scoring the first goal at this year’s tournament, kicking off a battle between Giovinco and FC Bayern Legends in the opening match. The Italian scored two more goals, but Bayern scored one more thanks to Franck Ribéry, Sebastian Rudy, Mario Mandžukić and Mark van Bommel. That meant Juve were under pressure straight away in their second game against Eintracht Frankfurt – and they rose to the challenge. After Frankfurt took the lead through Ervin Skela, the Old Lady burst into life and won 5-2, with World Cup winner Vincenzo Iaquinta scoring a hat-trick. With Bayern beating Eintracht 2-1 in the final group game, Juve advanced in second place behind FCB into the semi-finals.
Group A – Results
FC Bayern Legends 4-3 Juventus
Goals: 0-1 Giovinco, 1-1 Ribéry, 1-2 Giovinco, 1-3 Giovinco, 2-3 Rudy, 3-3 Mandžukić, 4-3 van Bommel
Juventus 5-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 0-1 Skela, 1-1 Giovinco, 2-1 Iaquinta, 3-1 Iaquinta, 4-1 Iaquinta, 5-1 Di Livio, 5-2 Hasebe
FC Bayern 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 1-0 Gaudino (o.g.), 2-0 Robben, 2-1 Chaftar
Group B: Dortmund and Real go through
Borussia Dortmund and Celtic appeared to have settled on a draw in the opening match in Group B, until Mladen Petrić popped up with a brilliant scissor kick with two seconds left on the clock to earn BVB a 2-1 win. In their second fixture against Real Madrid Leyendas, the Black-and-Yellows made it less tense as ex-Bayern man Mats Hummels opened the scoring in a 4-1 win, which confirmed Dortmund as group winners. That left a shootout for second place between Real and Celtic. The Glasgow side came back from 2-0 down to level and were heading for the semi-finals, only for Iván Pérez to fire Los Blancos into the next round.
Group B – Results
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Celtic
Goals: 0-1 Hayes, 1-1 Petrić, 2-1 Petrić
Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid Leyendas
Goals: 1-0 Hummels, 2-0 Sokratis, 2-1 de la Red, 3-1 Petrić, 4-1 Park
Real Madrid Leyendas 3-2 Celtic
Goals: 1-0 de la Red, 2-0 Agus, 2-1 McDonald, 2-2 Wallace, 3-2 Pérez
Semi-finals: Real prevent all-German final
In the first semi, the BVB legends side comfortably beat the Italian record champions 5-2. The accurate Petrić (two goals) and impressive Hummels (one) led the Dortmund side to victory.
Then the second semi-final between Bayern and Real provided high tension. After the opening goal from Rubén de la Red, the Munich men pushed for a way back but were frustrated by the Real defence. Instead, the clinical Spaniards made it 2-0 on the counter through de la Red to progress to the final.
Semi-finals – Results
Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Juventus
Goals: 1-0 Petrić, 2-0 Petrić, 2-1 Giovinco, 3-1 Hummels, 3-2 Hernanes, 4-2 Großkreutz, 5-2 Park
FC Bayern Legends 0-2 Real Madrid Leyendas
Goals: 0-1 de la Red, 0-2 de la Red
Finals: BVB lift the cup, Bayern a high-scoring third
Jürgen Klinsmann proved that you don't lose your scoring touch even years after retiring from professional football, putting the Bayern legends 2-0 ahead in the third-place play-off against Juve with a quickfire double – one with a backheel and the other with a hint of a bicycle kick. Arjen Robben, who ended up with three goals, was not to be outdone, before Ivica Olić and Mario Mandžukić made it 6-1 before half-time. The lively scoring continued in the second half, with the final score of 9-4 making it the highest-scoring game of the tournament and a consolation for FC Bayern Legends, who finished third after failing to defend their title.
In a repeat of the 2024 Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund met Real Madrid in the final of the Legends Cup. José Callejon struck first for Real, who again relied on defending and hit on the counter through de la Red to make it 2-0. Dortmund had the answer, though, with a Sokratis brace levelling the score before the break and then Hummels netting the winning goal for the title.
Finals – Results
Third-place play-off: Juventus 9-4 FC Bayern Legends
Goals: 1-0 Klinsmann, 2-0 Klinsmann, 3-0 Robben, 4-0 Robben, 4-1 Torricelli, 5-1 Olić, 6-1 Mandžukić, 7-1 Mandžukić, 7-2 Iaquinta, 7-3 Giovinco, 8-3 Robben, 9-3 Robben, 9-4 Iuliano
Final: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Real Madrid Leyendas
Goals: 0-1 Callejon, 0-2 de la Red, 1-2 Sokratis, 2-2 Sokratis, 3-2 Hummels
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