Man U Escapes with European Super Bowl

In the first-ever All-English final of the Champions League, Manchester United came back from the brink of defeat to get by Chelsea in a rain soaked game in Moscow. It was the third title for the Red Devils in Europe’s premier club soccer competition. The enthralling match between the bitter rivals required extra time and penalty kicks to decide the result after the game was tied 1-1 after regulation time. Didier Drogba, John Terry, and Nicolas Anelka were the goats for Chelsea, who seemed in good position to take home their first ever title in the event before it was taken away from them in painful fashion in the late moments.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 26th minute by scoring his competition-leading eighth goal. The star from Portugal scored on a header from a great cross into the box from Wes Brown. Ronaldo’s effort hardly drew a move from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech who was stopped cold in his tracks as the ball flew by him and into the net. Given the intense defensive prowess of both teams, it would have been easy for the United to sit on their lead, and keep the game at a stall the rest of the way.

Big Blue managed to change the entire dynamic of the match as halftime approached when Frank Lampard scored an equalizer, bringing England’s top two squads level again. His goal came at the end of a broken play where United’s defense fell apart after a shot from Lampard’s teammate Michael Essien’s was blocked. Essien’s shot was deflected by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic before it landed at Lampard’s feet. He made no mistake, beating Man U goalkeeper Edwin Van der Saar with little trouble to tie the game at one apiece.

Over the next 75 minutes, each team would have their chances at breaking the deadlock. Chelsea had the best opportunities, with Drogba hitting the post off a missile from 25 yards just before the end of regulation. Then, in extra time, it was Lampard who had a great look in the 94th minute to tally his second goal, but his shot hit the crossbar and was cleared out of danger. Minutes later, it was Ryan Giggs who looked like he had a clear path to the goal, but his shot was blocked on an absolutely terrific header by John Terry. If not for Terry’s wonderful play, Man U would have surged ahead as Cech was out of position and no one was covering goal.

Things got even more interesting as penalty kicks became more and more of a formality. In the 116th minute, just four minutes before the shootout was set to begin, the two teams got involved in a scuffle. During the proceedings, Drogba lost his cool for a moment and gave Vidic a slap at his face. Almost immediately, he was sent off with a red card. It was a truly questionable call in a game of this magnitude involving a superstar of Drogba’s caliber. Playing with 10 men, Chelsea still managed to claw their way to the shootout.

In the shootout, the first four shooters were true and scored with ease, putting the shootout at a 2-2 tie. Chelsea took the early edge when Manchester’s third shooter, Ronaldo, got his shot denied when Cech guessed right. The next two Chelsea kickers, Lampard and Ashley Cole found the back of the net and the team stood one kick away from the title. Facing a 4-3 deficit, Manchester United’s fifth kicker, Nani, faced the pressure of a do-or-die. He managed to beat Cech and tie the shootout at four.

That set up the stage for John Terry, Chelsea’s captain and a warrior on the defensive end. It was his play on Ryan Giggs in extra time that even allowed for a penalty shootout to be necessary. With a potential title lying on his foot, the usually reliable captain drew a brick, hitting the left post and keeping Manchester United alive for just a little bit longer. The next two United players scored their penalty kicks, putting the score at 6-5 with Nicolas Anelka the next shooter to take his place. Van der saar was finally able to guess right on a Chelsea shooter, and his block effectively ended the riveting match.

Chelsea had a great season completely ruined by their rivals from Manchester United. Big Blue started slow in their English Premier League season, but came back to briefly take the lead before the Reds managed to clinch the EPL on the final day of the season. Then, in their first shot at the Champions League, the same team once again denied them. You can look at Drogba’s moment of idiocy or Terry’s shank, but Europe’s version of the New York Yankees still can’t find a way to get to the top of the soccer scene in Europe.