What a night of different emotions it was last night. Before the match i was extremly nervous and i couldnt sit still, during the match at some points i could hardly watch, other times i loved it. The penalties were horrible especially when Ronaldo missed and Terry was stepping up to take the penalty to win the Champion's League. Here is the match review:
1st Half
Manchester United came out of the blocks from the start and attacked Chelsea, Essien was struggling with the pace and ability of Ronaldo most of the time he didn't know where he was. That came to our advantage when Ronaldo scored a free header in the 26th minute to give United a deserved 1-0 lead. After that goal we were in charge and had some fantastic chances to make it 2-0. Cech made a fantastic double save from Tevez and then Carrick, just after that Van Der Sar also made a fantastic save. The ball went back up the other end and all Tevez had to do was touch the ball and it would have gone into the back of the net but it went flying past Makelele, Tevez and Cech.
It looked like we were going to go into half time with a 1-0 lead but Lampard had different idea's when he scored exactly on half time to make it 1-1 going into the break.
2nd Half
With the second half kicking off, i couldnt help but wonder if it would change around because it was the perfect time for Chelsea to score, and that is exactly what it did. Manchester United were the better side in the first half and Chelsea were the better side in the second half. Chelsea hit the woodwork twice which did make my heart skip a beat. United did have a couple of chances but it looked like it was going to go into extra time and that is exactly what it did.
Extra Time
Normally in extra time the pace of the game is a lot slower and people are waiting for penalties but that wasnt the case. Both United and Chelsea were looking to win it.
John Terry saved Giggs shot off the line which if gone in i think would have definetly won it for us.
At the end of the second period of extra time there was a bit of a bust up between United and Chelsea which ended up with Drogba being sent off after slapping Vidic. This was about five minutes before penalties were to be taken, so they have lost a player who i think would have definetly taken a penalty.
Penalties
If it is your team taking penalties then everyone hates them and i am no different.
United took the first penalty and we were also kicking at the end of our fans. Tevez took the first penalty and scored. Ballack stepped up for Chelsea and he scored but i didnt doubt that he wouldn't for a second. Then came Carrick who looked confident and he scored. Belletti then took one and scored for Chelsea to make it 2-2 on penalties. Ronaldo stepped up and once he stopped during his run up i thought he would miss and that is what happened, Cech saved the penalty to give Chelsea an advantage. Up stepped Lampard and he scored to make it 3-2 to Chelsea on penalties. Hargreaves stepped up with a lot of pressure on his shoulders because he couldnt miss and he didn't. Ashley Cole scored his penalty after that. Then came Nani, he didnt look happy to be taking the all important penalty but he scored it and it was all up to John Terry. If John Terry scored this penalty then the trophy would have been Chelsea's. I could hardly watch but i did and as he stepped up i thought he had scored but he didnt. Terry had slipped and missed the penalty to take us to sudden death. We were all square and that was such a relief. Anderson scored the next penalty for United to put the pressure back on Chelsea but Kalou scored to put the pressure back on United and Ryan Giggs. Giggs stepped up and he scored. At this point most people where i was thought that this could have carried on for ages but that wasn't going to happen. Anelka stepped up to take a penalty and Van Der Sar saved it. That penalty save meant that United have won the Champion's League.
Overall
Some Chelsea fans have been saying that the best team lost. I personally think that is not the case, not because i am a United fan but because at the end of extra time i think it was 50/50. I think it was fair that penalties were taken because both teams had good chances. I would still have said this if United had lost in penalties.
Fans:
I would like to say weldone to all of the Manchester United and Chelsea fans, there were no problems before/during or after the match and they made English Football proud.
Well aren't we pleased with ourselves then :(
lol we are extremly pleased with ourselves ;)
It wasn't their best performance but they won in the end. By the way do u mind ot exchange links? Have a good day.
Hi r1ooooo
We did win in the end and that is what matters.
I would love to exchange links, post your URL and the name of your blog and i will add it to the rest.
I think we deserve the win for the boys attitude ...though we did not play the way I had expected but at the end we got the cup and Ronaldo scored thereby silencing all those who believe he does not score in big games
any one want to join a soccer discussion forum ??? Then check out Soccerfanbase.com it is free to join and you can interact with other soccer lovers ( I hope I am not seen as spam but will not mind a links exchange )
CHampions of Europe again.
Just imagine if Porthsmouth didn't rob the game from us when they won 1-0. I think we would be celebrating another Treble today!
But nonetheless i'm extremly happy, and i can now call United Champions of Europe:D
I understand what you are saying Oliver, if we were knocked out by Portsmouth and we werent playing very well then fair enough but we deserved to go through and i am still a bit bitter about that, nevermind we are Champion's of England and Europe!!!!!
Hi Soccerfanbase.com, thank you for your comment, i do not regard you posting a URL as spam, i will add it to my links straight away.