Manchester United win Champion's League after thrilling shoot-out
MAN UTD 1
Ronaldo 26
CHELSEA 1
Lampard 45
MAN UTD WIN 6-5 ON PENALTIES
MANCHESTER United have won the Champion's League for a third time after triumphing in a tense penalty shoot-out in Moscow tonight.
The shoot-out went as follows:
Tevez scores - Man Utd 1-0 Chelsea
Ballack scores - Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea
Carrick scores - Man Utd 2-1 Chelsea
Belletti scores - Man Utd 2-2 Chelsea
Ronaldo misses - Man Utd 2-2 Chelsea
Lampard scores - Man Utd 2-3 Chelsea
Hargreaves scores - Man Utd 3-3 Chelsea
A Cole scores - Man Utd 3-4 Chelsea
Nani scores - Man Utd 4-4 Chelsea
Terry misses - Man Utd 4-4 Chelsea
Anderson scores - Man Utd 5-4 Chelsea
Kalou scores - Man Utd 5-5 Chelsea
Giggs scores - Man Utd 6-5 Chelsea
Anelka misses - Man Utd 6-5 Chelsea
One hundred and twenty minutes of football had failed to separate the teams, so the tie had to be decided from the penalty spot.
In the first half, Manchester United had taken a 1-0 lead thanks to a headed goal by top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
United's opener came in the 26th minute, after Paul Scholes played a neat flick to Wes Brown, whose cross to the back post was met by the Portuguese winger.
But Frank Lampard pulled Chelsea level on the stroke of half time in a thrilling Champions League final in Moscow.
The England midfielder showed a cool head to slot home after Michael Essien's effort had taken two deflections.
Earlier in the second half it was Chelsea who had been applying the pressure.
Ballack strode forward in the 57th minute only to send his effort wide of the post.
It was a worrying spell for United as they looked slightly lacklustre after a long hard season, and manager Ferguson cut an anxious figure in the dug-out.
Essien had been posing a threat every time he went forward and Carrick did well to clear a good cross from the versatile Ghana international.
Then Joe Cole cut inside but his shot was accidentally blocked by Drogba.
Chelsea made a switch two minutes into extra-time with Salomon Kalou replacing Malouda.
A minute later, Chelsea hit the woodwork for a second time with Lampard's effort coming back off the bar after he had shown good skill to carve out the opening.
Then Essien showed good energy to advance deep into United territory and Carrick was grateful to concede a corner.
United hit back on the counter in the 100th minute and Terry cleared off the line from Giggs following a surging run from Evra.
Then Tevez took up a good position and got on the end of a pass from Ronaldo but his shot was safely taken by Cech.
The tension in the stadium was tangible going into the second half of extra-time.
Chelsea almost took the lead in the 78th minute when a marvellous 25-yard curler from Drogba beat Van der Sar only to come back off the post.
United responded and Tevez saw his effort go narrowly wide three minutes later following a clever cutback by Evra.
Then, in the 84th minute, Malouda found Drogba with a free-kick but the angle was too tight and his effort failed to trouble Van der Sar.
Ferguson made his first change in the 87th minute bringing on Ryan Giggs for Scholes.
In the process, Giggs made his 759th appearance for the club to overtake Sir Bobby Charlton's record as the final went into extra-time.
Matters came to a head on the pitch in the 116th minute when players squared up and Drogba was sent off for slapping Vidic.
Drogba was perplexed at the decision and took his time to leave the field while Tevez was given a yellow card for his part in the rumpus.
That left Chelsea without their key striker going into the penalty shoot-out, where United eventually came through as champions once again.
The full article contains 674 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
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Last Updated:
21 May 2008 10:42 PM
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Source:
The Scotsman
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Location:
Edinburgh