Mikel Obi Told Robben He Would Miss The Penalty

John-Obi Mikel has revealed the extraordinary mind games he played with Arjen Robben in the crucial seconds before his former Chelsea team-mate missed Bayern Munich’s extra-time penalty. “I told him he was going to miss it,” said the Nigerian midfielder. “I went up to him and said it in his ear. I told him that Petr Cech knew where he was going to kick it so he was going to miss.

“Petr went the right way. It wasn’t information he had about Robben but it’s something you try and do from time to time. It’s fair enough.”

With Bayern having dominated so much of the game, Mikel said that Robben’s penalty miss in the opening moments of the extra period was pivotal in filling Chelsea's players with self-confidence. “When he missed the penalty we kind of believed the trophy would be ours,” he said.

Robben was candid about his weak penalty. The Dutch winger said: “I wanted to shoot the ball hard and high in the goal — it was a terrible penalty. Two or three times, you feel you have the cup in your hands but at the end you stand with nothing.”