We Are The Champions Of Europe

It was a fantastic game! It had everything that a match needed! Be it the great passing, tackling, defending, dribbling, goalkeeping!


1st Half
Noticed that the pitch is really small as compared to those in the EPL. First 20 minutes were cagey, and nothing much to talk about. Man Utd had the upper hand in this half, and who else but Ronaldo to head home a cross from Wes Brown. He totally exposed the poor defending of Essien, once again proving the fact that Essien's not a defender, but a midfielder. Remember that, Grant.

Complacency took over Man Utd though, and just when they were about to settle for half time, Chelsea struck back. Ronaldo, being lazy, did not track Essien running down the middle of the field. Essien took a shot from 30 yards out, and the ball took a double deflection off Vidic and then Ferdinand's back, before landing perfectly in front of Lampard to slot home from 6 yards out.

Half ended 1-1.


2nd Half
This time round, Chelsea took over. Not many incidents to take note of, except one where Drogba struck a beautiful curling shot with his right foot from about 25 yards out, and it struck the post with Van Der Sar beaten.

Full Time ended 1-1. Into Extra Time.


Extra Time
Lampard shot hits post.

Stupid incident in the 2nd half of extra time.

Cech saw Carvalho injured on the ground. He decided to kick the ball out so that he could receive treatment. But it was obvious that it was just time wasting as other players like Ashley Cole and John Terry took the time to do some stretching.

Man Utd then took the throw in, and kicked the ball out for another throw in, while Tevez urged his teammates to move up the field and pressurize them. Chelsea, expecting Man Utd to kick the ball out for a goal kick, got mad. A scuffle then broke out, ending with Drogba slapping Vidic, earning himself a red card and an early shower.

What are you thinking, Chelsea? If you wanted to give up possession just to waste time, you still expect sportsmanship from your opponent? You can't just expect your opponent to give you back the ball the way you want them to. This is not a normal soccer match between 2 secondary schools. This is the Uefa Champions League Final. You should be glad that Man Utd bothered to give the possession back to you guys. I mean, there is no law in football that says that the opponent team MUST return possession in situations like this. It's up to the opponent to return the possession to you due to sportsmanship. But obviously, you've taken it for granted and think that Man Utd MUST return possession to you, and in the way that you want them to! And then what happens? Almost 20 players from both teams got involved in the scuffle, all for a bloody throw in? And even getting your own star striker red carded? This is stupid. Imagine what could have happened if Drogba was still in for the penalty shootout?

Think.


Penalties
Man Utd won the toss, and decided to go first, hoping that they could score and put the pressure on Chelsea instead.

Round 1:
Tevez scores. 1-0
Ballack scores. 1-1

Round 2:
Carrick scores. 2-1
Belletti scores. 2-2

Round 3:
Ronaldo penalty saved. 2-2.
Lampard scores. 2-3

Round 4:
Hargreaves scores. 3-3
Ashley Cole scores. 3-4

Round 5:
Nani scores. 4-4
John Terry slips and penalty hits the post. 4-4

Round 6:
Anderson scores. 5-4
Kalou scores. 5-5

Round 7:
Giggs scores. 6-5
Anelka penalty saved. Man Utd wins!


Verdict
I think it's the first major penalty shootout that Sir Alex Ferguson has won with Man Utd!

Great game. I'd say Man Utd deserved it. I pity John Terry. He's a good player, and you could see how heartbroken he was after the shootout. He was basically sobbing non-stop, and somehow no one could console him. But I believe that he is strong and will come back next season even stronger. As a Man Utd player! Haha. Well, he's a self-confessed Man Utd fan anyway!

Great season for Man Utd too. Achieving the double. Like what Sheen says, it's been 9 long years. Let's hope that we do not need to wait that long again for the next one. Probably 1 year will do :)