BERLIN: Pep Guardiola celebrated a dramatic final victory as Bayern Munich coach on Saturday, as his side beat Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on penalties to win the German Cup for the 18th time and seal their 11th domestic double.

Neither side was able to find the net in 120 minutes of football but after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer saved Sven Bender’s spot kick and Sokratis Papastathopoulos missed the next for Dortmund, Douglas Costa beat Roman Buerki with Bayern’s last penalty.

Buerki had earlier saved Joshua Kimmich’s penalty but Thomas Mueller kept Bayern, who also won the Bundesliga for a record fourth straight time, in control.

It was Bayern’s second Cup win after they lifted the trophy in 2014 when they also beat Dortmund while the Ruhr valley club have now lost in the final for the third straight year.

Guardiola, who has won three league titles and two German Cups in his three seasons in charge, hugged and kissed his players, with tears streaming down his face after his final match in charge before joining Manchester City next season.

“Anything can happen in a penalty shootout, so we are delighted,” Guardiola told Sky after the game. “It has been an amazing three years at this club. I will miss the players so much. I don’t look at titles or trophies. These are numbers. My track record is what I experience.”

The win in front of a roaring 74,000 crowd at the Olympic stadium also softened the disappointment of Bayern’s third consecutive Champions League semi-final exit under Guardiola earlier this month when they went out to Atletico Madrid.

“I had to win, win, win from the start and had the support of many great people. I am satisfied to be leaving with such a game,” the Spaniard said.

Bayern striker Thomas Mueller added: “It was an intense game. Penalties are always a horrific way to decide a game, but I think we deserved to win today.”

It was also an emotional evening for Mats Hummels, too. The Dortmund captain will move to Bayern this summer, having now lost his third successive German Cup final.

“It is obviously bitter to come that close every time and fail,” Hummels said. “We fought a good battle and we are very disappointed. For me, my time at Dortmund was unforgettable and I will miss them all.”

Dortmund, who last won the cup in 2012, lost to VfL Wolfsburg last year.

“It’s extremely bitter, to lose that way,” Buerki said of the shootout. “We fought and tried everything.”

Both sides missed chances to win before the shootout in what was a tense encounter contested to the limits of the players’ endurance, though Buerki was by far the busier goalkeeper.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a great chance to win it for Dortmund with five minutes remaining when he blazed over from close range on a counterattack, while Robert Lewandowski had come closest for Bayern.

“We had huge chances in the 120 minutes to score the decisive goal,” said Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel, who was very critical of his side’s performance. “It was very hard to find five good penalty-takers.”

Hummels had to go off with more than 10 minutes remaining in regular time in his last game for the club.

“He asked to be taken off,” Tuchel said. Asked about Hummels’ performance, he replied, “He can be better.”

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2016