Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea: Blues' Style to Thank for Improbable UEFA Final Win

More so than the clutch play of striker Didier Drogba and goalkeeper Petr Cech, Chelsea and its supporters can thank their club's commitment to a winning style of football for their first-ever UEFA Champions League title.

Defend. Defend some more. Counterattack.

Sure, Chelsea went on the offensive late in Saturday's match while trailing Bayern Munich 0-1, but once they found an equalizer just five minutes after going down to Thomas Muller's bouncing header, they again fell back into their defensive zone and waited for Bayern to implode. 

Bayern finished the match with 34 more shots than Chelsea, out-shooting the English side 43-9. Bayern even put seven shots on goal only to score once.

Despite the fact that world-class Chelsea defender John Terry was suspended from the match because of a previous red card, the Blues looked crisp, for the most part in their defending of an offensive juggernaut. 

Though Saturday's match featured endless turning points, there was none greater than Arjen Robben's penalty miss in the early moments of the first extra time period. Robben went low and to the left, but Cech was there.

In the end, it would be that penalty miss and two by Ivica Olic and former Chelsea player Bastian Schweinsteiger during penalty kicks that would hand Chelsea the club's first European Cup. 

If you were not watching the game and simply relied on the statistics, you would think Chelsea had been severely outplayed, and though that would be within the realm of fairness to say based on the number of chances created and blown by Bayern's attack, the Blues played their game to perfection. 

They were out-possessed by the German side 56-44, and only forced one corner kick all game long, which presented Drogba and Chelsea with the equalizer with minutes remaining in the match.

Chelsea took advantage of their chances, exactly what they had to do based on their defense-first style. Meanwhile, Bayern created 20 corner kicks only to waste every one of them. Chelsea even committed 12 more fouls than the home team.

Maybe Chelsea didn't deserve extra time, or a late opportunity on penalty kicks, but they got it, and you can thank their unwavering commitment to the game plan.

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