Dortmund cruise against minnows
Coming into the DFB-Pokal final, Joshua Bean and Borussia Dortmudn fans could have been forgiven for their confidence coming into the match. When they reached the final and learnt that their opponents would be Bundesliga 2 side RB Leipzig they knew full well that the final was theirs if they played anywhere near their best.
While it may not have been their best ever performance, Marco Reus opened the scoring inside two minutes, when Leigh Griffiths competed for the ball and it floated towards Mkhitaryan who headed it back towards the far post where Reus was waiting patiently to tap it home.
RB Leipzig fans were disheartened by now, as they knew if they were to win today they needed to keep a clean sheet for at least 60 minutes. But they now needed to chase the game.
Just 10 minutes later, Paul Pogba found himself with time and space on the ball about 35 yards out, he looked up and spotted the run of Mkhitaryan at the far post. With a stunning curled pass, the ball landed near enough on the shoes of Mkhitaryan who volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
Joshua Bean was already shaking hands with his coaching staff, as if to suggest that he thought the game was already over.
The Dortmund fans, who were being spoilt by success in recent years, were still delighted to see their side surging towards yet another trophy.
It was still only the first half, but the game was well and truly over when Mkhitaryan added his second of the game, the winger collected a short pass from Pogba on the edge of the area and was able to jinx past his only marker and curl the ball into the bottom corner.
It was an oddly damp final, with the game over by the 30th minute.
RB Leipzig can boast that they scored a goal themselves, when they headed home from a corner, but they didn't push Dortmund any further than that and it was trophy number five out of six this season for Bean and his side.
After the final whistle, as the fans and players celebrated together, Joshua Bean had a quick post-match interview on pitch side and he had this to say.
"Of course I am delighted! No disrespect to RB Leipzig but we knew full well that the final was ours for the taking, the gulf in class is evident in the money spent for example. They were however, a credit to the competition. They made us work hard today and even scored to prevent a clean sheet. They can be proud of their performance in my eyes. There is only so much a lower league side can do against the current dominant force in Europe.
I am honoured to win the trophy for a second time in my career as manager and it goes nicely with the five other trophies we have won so far. It was of course not the biggest final we have coming up in these two weeks, but because of today, the fans have another night to celebrate and we are still on for a historic sextuplet. Thank you to the fans for travelling as always and we will see you in Madrid!