Fresh from the disappointment of losing his place in the Spanish national squad alongside Blues team-mate Juan Mata for their country's forthcoming World Cup preparations, striker Fernando Torres made a magnificent impact only eight minutes into UEFA's showpiece Super Cup clash involving Chelsea and Bayern Munich in Prague.
The match had been billed all week as a needle-filled head-to-head between trainers Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, but having each played down their supposed rivalry, it was finally down to business on the field of play.
Belgian ace Eden Hazard displayed grace and skill when firstly turning smartly and then running with absolute gusto from his own half, before playing the ball wide for Andre Schurrle on the right. The German sent in a pinpoint low cross for Torres, who was deadly from inside the box with an emphatic finish on the half-volley, leaving Manuel Neuer no chance.
Bayern were almost totally in control of possession after falling behind, which led to a fine save from hometown boy Petr Cech down low to his left following a good effort from French danger-man Franck Ribery on 16 minutes. Muller then got free on the right side of the penalty area only to see his shot blocked into the side-netting by Cole.
Goalscorer Torres blazed a shot over the bar as the half neared an end, as Europa League holders Chelsea attempted to put a golden seal on a first-half full of counter-attacking menace from Mourinho's men.
Reigning European champions Bayern bit back spectacularly two minutes after the restart when the inspirational Ribery collected the ball 30 yards from goal, advanced and unleashed a powerful right-footed drive past the despairing reach of Cech. He almost struck again immediately after, but the finish was tame in comparison with the equalising effort.
Fans of the Bavarian giants were in full voice as their heroes became increasingly threatening in their forays forward, with a 55th-minute free-kick from the left by Ribery finding Robben in space amongst a snoozing Chelsea rearguard, but he ballooned high and wide when in position to do much better.
Guardiola was getting animated on the touchline, as Bayern's undoubted dominance failed to translate into a second goal; it was all German pressure by the hour mark and the Blues were struggling to cope.
Brazilian defender Dante almost undid Bayern's hard work when inexplicably losing possession on the edge of his own area to Schurrle, his cross finding Oscar who's straight shot was met by the onrushing Neuer's legs. The resultant loose ball pinged out to Lampard 20 yards out, but he fired way over.
What a contest it was turning out to be; especially in comparison with several Super Cups of the past that've largely flattered to deceive, eventually lulling most observers into a peaceful sleep through utter boredom. In contrast, both sides on view tonight desperately wanted to win and were putting up a great fight to claim the honours, while fans inside the stadium were creating a cacophony of noise.
With 12 minutes remaining, captain Frank Lampard sent in a tempting corner from the right which was met by a David Luiz flick-on in the direction of Ivanovic behind him. The Serbian reacted quickly to head agonisingly against the crossbar, while keeper Neuer flapped at thin air.
Chelsea were coming on strong and Neuer was forced to pull off a smart point-blank save from a Luiz leaping header shortly before a savage blow was dealt to the west Londoners' hopes of victory with a red card for the over-zealous Ramires with only four minutes left on the clock.
The two sides couldn't be separated and so matters moved on to extra-time; a daunting prospect for a tiring 10-man Chelsea team, or so it initially appeared.
However, two minutes into the first-half of added time, Hazard received the ball on the left before cutting in menacingly and hitting a 15-yard thunderbolt under a slow-motion Neuer to defy the odds. They then retreated ever deeper into their defensive third to see out the rest of the opening extra-time period, while blocking everything Bayern threw at them.
Bayern were back in the hunt after the resumption of play and Mandzukic was denied an equaliser by an incredible Cech save when it seemed a certain goal.
Mourinho waved his arms furiously to get the Chelsea fans and players rallied for one last Herculean effort, as Ribery lined up a free-kick with time ticking away. The Man-of-the-Match curled a delightful effort towards the top corner, only for the defiant Cech to palm it away to his right.
It looked for all the world that Chelsea were going to hold on, but injury-time saviour Javi Martinez shattered their dreams with a neat finish from inside the area to take the tie to penalties.
In a tense atmosphere, the first three kicks from each side were beautifully executed and then star man Ribery made it 4-3. Afterwards, Ashley Cole got lucky when his attempt hit the inside of the post before trickling in and it was still all to play for. Bayern then made it 5-4, leaving sub Romelu Lukaku with the task of keeping his side in the contest. His penalty was far too soft and much too close to Neuer, who made the short leap to his left to gather the ball easily and hand the prestigious trophy to the Munich outfit.
If this evening's show is a sign of things to come when the world's premier club competition gets underway in earnest, then we can look forward to a compelling list of fixtures throughout the campaign as the continent's greatest clubs do battle for right to call themselves Europe's best.
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