Our favourite Chelsea goal: Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard and more!

Dan McClue: Didier Drogba v Bayern Munich 2012

88th minute, Chelsea were staring defeat in the face. Their second final in four years, the Blues couldn’t bear another heart-breaking defeat. Substitute Fernando Torres won a corner, Juan Mata jogged over to take it. For the entirety of the match, Chelsea had been under the cosh, they didn’t look like scoring at any point – the Blues needed a hero.

That’s the thing with this goal. Chelsea really didn’t look like scoring, at all. There was no sign of a break-through and defeat was assumed the moment Bayern Munich took the lead. The game was at their home ground, after all. Gary Neville famously said it looked “written in the stars for Chelsea”. A few of those moments occurred between Roberto Di Matteo taking over in the second leg against Napoli, to the Nou Camp in Barcelona. It took extra time to beat Napoli, while Torres’ goal against Barca made you think ‘just maybe’.

As Didier Drogba hung in the warm, Munich air, twisting his head, cannoning the ball towards goal – it was an actual realisation ‘this could happen’. You could sense it. It was happening.

The cross, the leap, the power, the direction, the timing; everything about the header was perfect – and it had to be to beat the best goalkeeper in the world.

Drogba was the hero Chelsea needed and the goal will never be forgotten.