UNITED LIFT THIRD EUROPEAN CROWN
Russian roulette of penalties decide Moscow Final
By Julius Ross
Manchester United secured a hat-trick of European crowns last Wednesday, when they defeated English rivals Chelsea on penalties in a drama-filled night in Moscow.
The victory came 40 years on from their first European title success back in 1968 at Wembley, and coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, in which members of United’s squad were killed in a tragic plane crash.
It was also fitting that Ryan Giggs added further to United’s history book, his 759th appearance for Manchester beating the long-standing record set by Munich survivor and footballing great Sir Bobby Charlton.
It appeared that history was on United’s side and, ironically, it was Giggs who netted the winning penalty to send the trophy back to Manchester for the first time since 1999.
Although the match was evenly contested between the two English heavyweights, many would agree on review of the tournament that United were deserved winners.
Unbeaten throughout the competition, the Red Devils progressed from Group F with five wins and a draw from six outings, an impressive feat considering opposition came in the form of AS Roma and Sporting Lisbon.
United then went on to down French champions Lyon in the last sixteen, Italian giants Roma again in the quarters, and then Spanish favourites Barcelona in the semi-final, scoring 19 goals and conceding just five to set up a first ever English final.
Attacking flair and defensive stability was the key throughout the campaign for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, with the competition’s top goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo an immense figure in United’s line-up.
Despite being labelled among the favourites from day one of the season, United did meet some heavy criticism late in the tournament when they employed extremely defensive tactics in the semi-final against Barcelona.
Their negative exhibition paid dividends, however, and many could argue that it was a display of defensive superiority which prevented Barca’s ability to score.
In comparison, Chelsea’s campaign was one of mixed results, winning six matches, drawing four and losing one, which often saw the side play some incredibly uninspiring football which barely managed to achieve the results required.
Their knockout stage draw also provided tests of lesser proportions to United, with the Blues facing Greece’s Olympiacos, Turkey’s Fenerbahce and English rivals Liverpool on their way to the final.
Their 2-1 loss to Fenerbahce in Istanbul in the quarter-finals highlighted the fact that the Londoners were not in the same vein of form as the rampaging United who had demolished Roma 3-0 on aggregate.
But the two sides were evenly matched on the night in the Luzhniki Stadium and the two sides had to be separated by the dreaded lottery of a penalty shootout.
United began the brighter of the two, and dominated a first half which could have seen them go two or three goals ahead.
After a cagey opening period, the Red Devils gained the upper hand and who else but English Premier League Player of the Season Cristiano Ronaldo gave his side a much deserved lead with a clinical header for his 42nd goal of the season in all competitions.
A pin-point Wes Brown cross to the back post was met perfectly with Ronaldo’s soaring jump, his header directed into the bottom corner leaving Chelsea’s ‘keeper flat-footed, and the United crowd in awe of the Portuguese winger’s aerial ability.
On the half-hour, United were in full control, dominating 65% of possession and launching further attacks on the Chelsea goal.
The English champions were unlucky not to go further ahead in the 34th minute when Rooney launched a superb counter attack with a glorious ball from his own box to Ronaldo.
The goal scorer then crossed to a diving Carlos Tevez, whose effort was superbly blocked by goalkeeper Petr Cech, and the rebound by Carrick was again met by another world-class save from the Czech international.
Tevez had a second chance to make it 2-0 in United’s favour when Rooney’s accurate cross met the Argentinean’s toe just metres out, but his sliding effort was sliced wide of the net.
United were made to pay for their missed opportunities as a rare surge by Chelsea saw them capitalise on some unlucky defending.
Frank Lampard was given the easiest of finishes after Ghanaian Michael Essien rifled a shot which took a double deflection; the ball falling perfectly to the feet of Lampard who slipped it past an unsteady Edwin Van Der Saar, right on the stroke of half-time.
Chelsea came out in the second half buoyed by Lampard’s equaliser and were a changed side from the first, dominating proceedings with German midfielder Michael Ballack, striker Didier Drogba and Essien troubling the United defence.
The Blues accumulated 11 shots in comparison to their five in the first half, and Drogba’s curling effort which struck Van Der Saar’s upright illustrated how close they were to a winner.
Unlucky to escape a 2-0 deficit in the first half, Chelsea were unfortunate not to win the match in the second.
As the match headed into extra time, both sides reverted to a more cautious approach, unwilling to take risks which may lead to defeat.
Chelsea again started the brighter, and a fantastic piece of play saw Lampard strike the underside of the crossbar three minutes in.
A surging run into the box by Kalou, a touch by Ballack and a beautiful turn and left-footed shot by Lampard was unfortunate not to see Chelsea take the lead.
Scenes turned ugly near the end of the first period, with Drogba receiving his marching orders after he struck United defender Nemanja Vidic across the face in a heated mêlée.
Soon cramp and fatigue played a part in creating a dull finish to the match, with both managers making substitutions ready for the inevitable penalty shoot-out, as rain began to pound the Luzhniki turf.
With so much riding on the penalties, it was amazing to witness an incredible amount of fantastically converted spot-kicks, with only three missed from a total of 14.
The unlucky ones not to convert included Ronaldo whose stuttered run-up failed to fool Cech; Chelsea captain John Terry who slipped on the wet pitch to send his spot-kick onto the woodwork and Nicolas Anelka’s effort which was superbly saved by Van Der Saar.
Fittingly, Ryan Giggs was the final player to convert, to add Luzhniki 2008 to United’s historic successes in Wembley in ’68 and the Nou Camp in 1999.
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