It was the 63rd minute. Borussia might have freed themselves from Bayern's iron grip, but suddenly Arjen Robben was presented with an open goal and looked certain to notch Bayern's third and put the game beyond BVB's reach. Then came Sven Bender to the rescue...

Robben targeted the bottom right corner, placed his shot and probably expected to score the goal that would wrap up the win. But Bender, who was outstanding throughout, got the tips of his toes to the ball and deflected it onto the upright with an outstanding defensive block to keep his team in the game. "If we'd have gone 3-1 down, it would've been game over," commented captain Marcel Schmelzer. "It was an excellent block!"

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"Mentality is always a key component in sport and we really showed how strong we are today," said Sven Bender after the action-packed semi-final. "But quality counts too. We had an optimal combination of the two. Of course we rode our luck in certain situations as well, but that's all part of Cup evenings like this. We are super happy and delighted that we have won and that we will be in Berlin again." (br)