Chelsea F.C. defeated Bayern München May 19 on German turf to win the club’s first Champions League title in penalty kicks on a mild night in Munich.

In the semi-finals, Chelsea took down Barcelona, the reigning UEFA champions, and Bayern München knocked out Real Madrid to advance to the final stage of the tournament.

Kick-off was at 2:45 Eastern time and Chelsea started with the ball.  Surprisingly, the stadium was equally filled with Chelsea and Bayern supporters although the game took place on Bayern’s home field.

The first half was slow, with few scoring chances on both sides. Perhaps the most noteworthy occurrence was when Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger received a yellow card for an obvious hand ball.

When the referee blew the whistle at half time, the game was tied at 0-0. Bayern had a whopping total of twenty corner kicks, a Champions final record, while Chelsea only had one.

As the teams trotted back onto the field, both teams looked determined and started to pick up the pace. About 20 minutes into the half, Bayern’s Bastian Schweinsteiger sent a cross soaring into the middle of the penalty box and midfielder Thomas Müller headed a bouncing ball past Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.

Although Bayern tried tenaciously to protect its precious one goal lead, it wasn’t enough to hold Chelsea back.

Within five minutes of the first goal, Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata crossed the ball from the right side of the field and assisted a header by striker Didier Drogba, tying the game at one with only a few minutes left in regulation.

As the game extended into injury time, Bayern continued to put pressure on Chelsea’s goal. In the third minute of stoppage time, Drogba tripped Bayern midfielder Franck Ribéry in the penalty box.

Chelsea fans looked on in anguish as Ribéry lined the ball up to take a penalty kick. After the referee blew the whistle, Ribéry shot a low ball to the bottom right corner of the goal, but Cech pulled off a fantastic save to keep his team alive.

The game headed into overtime, in which Bayern dominated posession. With multiple corner kicks and shots on goal, Bayern looked hungrier than Chelsea for the trophy.

As Chelsea began to run out of gas, the referee blew the whistle after two scoreless periods of overtime, signaling the transition to a penalty shootout.

Defender Philipp Lahm was the first to shoot for Bayern and he easily made his shot. When Mata stepped up for Chelsea, Neuer intercepted his shot, giving Bayern a 1-0 lead.

The following two players, Bayern striker Mario Gomez and Chelsea defender David Luiz, both scored to progress the score to 2-1. Next, Neuer stepped forward to shoot for Bayern, a rare move since goalies usually don’t shoot in such crucial situations. To the fans’ surprise, Neuer scored on Cech, his opposing goalie, to give his team a 3-1 lead.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard put Chelsea back on the board, however, when he scored to make the score 3-2. Although Bayern striker Ivica Olić had the opportunity to finish the game for his team, Cech made an easy save to block his attempt.

With the game on the line, Chelsea defender Ashley Cole scored to tie the score at 3-3.  Up next for Bayern was Schweinsteiger, who stuttered his approach to fool Cech, but ended up hitting the right post with his shot. He immediately threw his jersey over his head in disbelief and began to cry in fear, giving Chelsea the chance to win the game.

It all came down to Drogba, a veteran who has played on Chelsea for eight years. Despite the mounting pressure, he shot the ball cleanly passed Neuer and into the side netting to win Chelsea its first ever Champions League title.

Surrounded by hundreds of supporters, the team celebrated its win on top of a blue double-decker bus in southwest London in the days following the victory.

Just a few days after the club’s big win, Drogba announced his departure from Chelsea.

“I wanted to put an end to all the speculation and confirm that I am leaving Chelsea,” he said in an article on the official club website.

The 34-year-old prodigy thought going out on a Champions League title was the best way to end his eight years of success with Chelsea.