The prospect of a dream El Clasico played out between the Spanish giants in Munich seemed highly likely, if not inevitable.
But German club's semi-final penalty shootout win over Real and Chelsea's heroic rearguard action in Barcelona has produced an intriguing showdown to an unpredictable competition.
Bayern's dreams of lifting the trophy in their home stadium had been at the top of their agenda since before the start of the season.
Chelsea's billionaire Russian owner, Roman Abramovich has had his eyes on the trophy since he bought the club in 2003, although even he must have thought the chances of lifting it this season were slight as their campaign appeared to disintegrate under coach Andre Villas-Boas.
But after Villas-Boas was sacked in March and replaced by caretaker Roberto di Matteo, Chelsea's season came alive and they find themselves on the brink of being crowned European champions for the first time.
It is one of the reasons Di Matteo's future is still in doubt, although he said at his first pre-final news briefing on Monday: "I am not thinking about myself.
"What is at stake is that we have a chance to bring the European title home for the first time in this club's history - and that's all that is important.
"We go into the game with the quality and experience to win it. I have the motivation to do something extra-ordinary for this club. This will be a one-shot chance and with all the problems we have with injuries and suspensions it's causing me a headache."
Back in the summer club bosses feared even getting to the Allianz Arena for the showdown would be a long shot after they were drawn in the "group of death" as club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge called it alongside Manchester City, Villarreal and Napoli.
