Pep Guardiola has won his first trophy as Bayern Munich manager courtesy of an incredible penalty-shootout win over Chelsea in the Super Cup in Prague.
Fernando Torres put the Europa League winners in front early on, before Frank Ribery replied for the European champions shortly after the break as the 90-minute scoreline finished 1-1.
Ramires was sent off for the Blues before the start of extra time, during which Eden Hazard, with the aid of a Manuel Neuer mistake, scored to give Chelsea the lead once more.
The Blues withstood severe Munich pressure until the final kick of the action, when Javi Martinez equalised to force spot kicks, and Romelu Lukaku was the only player to miss as Bayern won the shootout 5-4 to give Guardiola victory over his old foe Jose Mourinho.
Restored to the starting lineup after being dropped for the Premier League meeting with Manchester United on Monday, Torres began and finished a wonderfully-crafted team move that saw the Blues take an eighth-minute advantage.
© Getty Images
Hazard collected the Spaniard's pass before dribbling through three Bayern challenges and finding Andre Schurrle, whose pinpoint cutback was emphatically thumped in from 12 yards by Torres.
Ribery, who collected the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for the 2012-13 season on Thursday, was a handful for Chelsea throughout, but it did take him until after the interval to net Bayern's equaliser.
The French winger had seen a bending effort saved by Petr Cech in the first half, but he got the better of the Chelsea stopper by surprising him with a 25-yard shot that squeezed in at the near post.
© Getty Images
Neuer produced two strong saves to keep the game level, firstly foiling Oscar from close range after Dante's slip had allowed Schurrle to square to the unmarked Brazilian in front of goal.
An equally-impressive reflex stop from David Luiz's late header helped force extra time, and the Bavarians would have a man advantage for the additional half-hour courtesy of Ramires's 85th-minute dismissal.
© Getty Images
The tireless midfielder picked up a yellow card for a foul on Ribery earlier in the half, and he was cautioned again when he left his studs in on substitute Mario Gotze while going in for a 50-50 challenge.
After playing a starring role in the closing stages of normal time, Neuer turned from hero to villain when the action resumed as he gifted Hazard what appeared at one stage to be the winning goal.
The Belgian did well to cut inside Phillip Lahm and Jerome Boateng, but his low shot should really have been saved by the German number one, who let the ball through his hands in the centre of the goal.
© Getty Images
There was a change of fortune for the goalkeeper at the other end too, when Cech made amends for his earlier error by saving from both Mario Mandzukic and Martinez in the space of a minute.
Another moment of brilliance from Cech to deny Ribery's 118th-minute free kick looked to have seen Chelsea across the line, but Martinez pounced on a loose ball in the box to take the match to penalties.
Each side's opening four spot kicks were convincingly converted, and although Cech got a firm hand to Xherdan Shaqiri's effort, he couldn't keep it out, meaning that Bayern were 100% from 12 yards.
© Getty Images
Lukaku was chosen as Chelsea's taker for the decisive penalty, but his tame shot was straight at Neuer, allowing Munich to exact some revenge for their 2012 Champions League defeat by the Blues.
No Data Analysis info