Chelsea met Bayern Munich in Bayern’s own stadium, equalised in the 88th minute and won the club’s first European Cup after extra time and penalties.
1–1 aetScore
4–3Shoot-out
Drogba 88′Chelsea scorer
Di MatteoManager
An unlikely route
Roberto Di Matteo took temporary charge in March 2012 with Chelsea behind Napoli after the first leg of the round of 16. The recovery at Stamford Bridge was followed by victories over Benfica and Barcelona, sending Chelsea to a second Champions League final four years after defeat in Moscow.
A final in Bayern’s stadium
The venue was the Allianz Arena and four Chelsea players were suspended. Bayern led through Thomas Müller in the 83rd minute. Five minutes later, Didier Drogba headed in Juan Mata’s corner with Chelsea’s first corner of the match.
Petr Čech saved Arjen Robben’s extra-time penalty, then stopped Ivica Olić and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the shoot-out. Those three saves are central to the result, not a supporting detail.
The decisive kick
After Juan Mata’s opening penalty was saved, David Luiz, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole scored. Čech’s save from Schweinsteiger left Drogba with the chance to win the trophy; his successful kick made Chelsea European champions for the first time.
A triumph unlike any other
The result joined a difficult domestic league season and an FA Cup victory. That tension is why the campaign should be read as a whole rather than rewritten as an inevitable European triumph. Di Matteo’s short tenure, the senior players’ experience and a series of narrow knockout moments all belong in the record.
Last reviewed 19 July 2026. The chronology is separated from interpretation; match and season figures link back to the complete archive record.
The story in detail
Chelsea finished sixth in the Premier League but won both the FA Cup and the Champions League. The contrast is central to the season: domestic inconsistency existed alongside the most consequential European result in club history.
André Villas-Boas began the campaign and Roberto Di Matteo completed it as interim manager. The archive keeps both spells attached to the season, because assigning the entire record to the eventual trophy winner would erase the managerial change.
The European run required recoveries against Napoli and Barcelona before the final with Bayern Munich. Didier Drogba's late header forced extra time in Munich, Petr Čech saved a penalty there and further saves in the shootout preceded Drogba's decisive kick.
Winning the Champions League qualified Chelsea for the following competition despite the league finish. That consequence shows why a season cannot always be read through domestic position first, while the sixth-place record remains part of the full assessment.
Bayern played the final in their home stadium and controlled long periods, but Chelsea remained within one goal before Drogba's equaliser. Describing that imbalance is more useful than turning it into a claim that planning or belief alone determined the result.
Čech saved Arjen Robben's extra-time penalty and then denied Ivica Olić and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the shootout. The chronology makes clear why his contribution is central without erasing the scorers and defenders who carried the run to Munich.
The victory also changed qualification for 2012-13 because Chelsea's sixth-place league finish would not otherwise have secured entry. That rule consequence is part of the season's historical importance.