|
Friday, 21 November, 2008 10:17 am
|
You are here:Home 
Sport EuroLeague Chelsea in Agony as Manchester United Rule Europe
Sport EuroLeague Chelsea in Agony as Manchester United Rule Europe | Chelsea in Agony as Manchester United Rule Europe |
|
|
| Written by Adeleke Afolayan | ||||||
| Thursday, 22 May 2008 | ||||||
     The hero of the night was Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van Der Sar who saved Nicholas Anelka’s penalty in what was such a nerve-wracking shoot-out that Cristiano Ronaldo was failed by his gut. The 90 minutes of the game generally was not the explosive encounter most fans would have bargained for but there were moments where the game did come out of slumber. The first was in the 26th minute when Ronaldo met a Wes Brown cross with a header past a rooted Petr Cech for his eighth goal of the competition and 42nd in an amazing season for the Portuguese. Rio Ferdinand however almost put Chelsea back on level terms minutes later under pressure from Michael Ballack but van Der Sar was on hand with a one-hand save over the goal. The resultant Chelsea corner is cleared to Wayne Rooney who raced downfield and picked out Ronaldo whose cross was met with a diving header from Carlos Tevez. Cech however pulled off a fantastic save from the Argentine and did well to parry Michael Carrick’s shot off the rebound out for a corner kick. That saved proved crucial at the time as right on the stroke of halftime, Frank Lampard put the Blues back on level terms after a Michael Essien shot bounced into his path off Ferdinand. The goal gave Chelsea more spirit as the Londoners gained control of the match but failed to create a clear-cut goal opportunity until the 78th minute when Didier Drogba, until then largely alone upfront, sent a left foot curler off van Der Sar’s post. Chelsea would later come so close in extra time as the game finished level at 1-1 after 90 minutes. Salomon Kalou, in for Florent Malouda, did well to get a cross into the United area for Ballack. The German cut a pass back to Lampard who turned his marker and sent a shot crashing off the crossbar. The action switched over to the Chelsea area as Patrice Evra found Ryan Giggs, making his record breaking 759th appearance for the Red Devils, but the Welshman’s shot was somehow headed off the line by John Terry who came virtually from nowhere. Then came the ugly moment of the match which saw Tevez get immersed in a skirmish with Terry and Ballack, attracting all the players from both sides except van Der Sar. Nemanja Vidic and Drogba then had their own confrontation and the Ivorian striker mildly slapped the Serb's cheek, an action that ended his adventure in Moscow as referee Lubos Michel sent him off with a straight red card. So penalties ensued and Tevez, Ballack, Carrick and Juliano Belletti all converted their spot kicks with ease. The nerves however got to the Player of the Year in England as Ronaldo’s kick was saved by Cech, handing the initiative to Chelsea who duly obliged through Lampard. Ronaldo afterwards buried his face on the pitch while the penalties went on. Owen Hargreaves put United level on 3-3 with the best penalty taken on the night while further successful kicks from Ashley Cole and Nani for either side left Terry needing to score the fifth to win Chelsea's first ever Champions League trophy. That however was the moment the usually reliable England defender failed as he sent his kick wide of the post and gave the Red Devils the chance to regain the advantage, which they did through Anderson. With Kalou and Giggs also converting from the spot in the knockout phase of the shoot-out, Anelka had to score the 14th penalty to keep Chelsea’s title hopes alive but van Der Sar went the right way and sent fans of the Red Devils all over the world into ecstatic euohoria. The win is Manchester United’s second since the inception of the Champions League and third overall while Chelsea and indeed London will have to wait at least one more season to produce a European champion.  Quote this article on your site | Views: 326 | Print | E-mail
Write Comment
Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6 |
||||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
More Euroleague
- Giantkilling Burnley Handed Arsenal test in Carling Cup
- Yakubu Salvages Point for Everton
- Milan Closes Gap on Inter Milan
- Real Madrid Fall to Ogbeche's Valladolid
- Chelsea Ease Back to Premier League Top
- Agbonlahor Guns Arsenal Down as Ronaldo Lifts Man U
- Ogbuke-Obasi Shines in Hoffenheim Win
- Chelsea, Liverpool Make Redemption Visits in Premier League
- Rome Derby Ignites Italian Serie 'A' Weekend
- Burnley Knock Chelsea Out of League Cup
Latest Comments
| Colombia Defeat Super Eagles of Nigeria |
|
dancing when the music is no more Not until all those cattle rearers leave the football house,... |
| 21/11/08 05:49 More... |
| By odinugwu |
| Ondo State Local Government Service Commission chairman arre... |
|
more of olabisi's are in ondo state. Do not single olabisi out of all the chairmen and the princ... |
| 21/11/08 00:30 More... |
| By femi adegbaju [ usa ] |
| MTN Project Fame: Probation students meet fans at UNILAG |
|
NII HELLO!! WESTAFRICA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD,AM BABS THAT'... |
| 20/11/08 20:48 More... |
| By BARBARA BREW |
| Sasha or Kel....Choose! And don't be sentimental |
|
kel rocks hard! mehn! i knw gr8 talent when i hear one...heard Kel's new sin... |
| 20/11/08 20:42 More... |
| By beedazzled |
