Match 2008 UEFA Champions League Final

1 match

1.1 team selection
1.2 summary

1.2.1 first half
1.2.2 second half
1.2.3 time
1.2.4 penalty shoot-out


1.3 details
1.4 statistics

match
team selection

manchester united fans display card mosaic reading believe .

sir alex ferguson guaranteed place in starting line-up paul scholes, after midfielder had missed 1999 final through suspension. ferguson made 1 change team had beaten wigan athletic secure league title 10 days earlier, owen hargreaves starting on right side of midfield in 4–4–2 formation in place of park ji-sung, did not make substitutes bench despite starting both legs of semi-final. cristiano ronaldo started on left wing, pitted against makeshift chelsea right-back michael essien. went against prediction of guardian s david pleat, thought duel between ronaldo , ashley cole key final. ferguson hoped substitutes might have big impact on match, teddy sheringham , ole gunnar solskjær did in 1999, when pair came off bench manchester united come behind , beat bayern munich. week before game, ryan giggs philosophical chances of being included in starting line-up; named 1 of 7 allowed substitutes.

the day before match, avram grant predicted game throw few tactical surprises due 2 teams knowledge of each other domestic league. nevertheless, decided start florent malouda on left-wing instead of salomon kalou, , chose deploy michael essien @ right-back, rather in preferred midfield position, ahead of paulo ferreira – did not make bench despite starting both legs of semi-final – , juliano belletti. rest of chelsea s team expected, key players john terry (dislocated elbow) , didier drogba (knee) recovering injuries suffered against bolton wanderers on last day of league season 10 days earlier start game. ashley cole started despite hurting right ankle in training day before game under heavy challenge claude makélélé. replacement have been wayne bridge, recovered sufficiently bridge not included in matchday squad cover.

summary
first half

manchester united , chelsea players shake hands ahead of match.

after cagey first 21 minutes, first major incident of game occurred when paul scholes , claude makélélé clashed in mid-air, resulting in both players being booked , scholes having leave field treatment bloody nose. first goal of game came 5 minutes later, when interchange of passes between scholes , wes brown after throw-in on right flank gave brown time pick out cross cristiano ronaldo, directed header past petr Čech. chelsea equalised in 33rd minute when frank lampard s cross headed goal area didier drogba. united s rio ferdinand, under pressure michael ballack, forced head ball towards own goal , edwin van der sar pulled off one-handed save deny chelsea goal. united spent rest of first half pressing second goal, , had 2 opportunities extend lead, denied double-save Čech. wayne rooney delivered long ball path of ronaldo , united goalscorer placed cross on head of diving carlos tevez, Čech deny him. chelsea s failure clear loose ball gave michael carrick chance extend side s lead, Čech again equal task save.

manchester united in possession

chelsea survived pressure, tevez failed connect low cross rooney, , equalised in final minute of first half. goal followed long-range shot michael essien, deflected first off nemanja vidić , ferdinand. ball s change in direction caused van der sar lose footing, leaving lampard, had made run deep, simple finish. in celebration, lampard looked , pointed sky both hands in memory of mother, pat, had died month earlier. @ end of first half, manchester united manager sir alex ferguson confronted match referee Ľuboš micheľ, jabbing out angry finger , spitting out few choice words .

second half

manchester united go on attack.

lampard s equaliser @ end of first half led transformed chelsea in second, , kept united on foot long periods. nevertheless, red devils managed contain of chelsea s attacks. chelsea had few opportunities take lead, essien breaking free of united s defence in 54th minute, left-footed shot curl on goal. chelsea s closest opportunity take lead came in 77th minute when drogba shot struck post 25 yards (23 m) out. ivorian striker came close turning joe cole s low cross home winner 4 minutes time, fired wide. ryan giggs introduced in place of scholes, making record 759th appearance manchester united.

extra time

the game moved time, , both teams had chances score vital second goal; first, lampard hit underside of bar left-footed shot after ball played in him disguised pass ballack, giggs stabbed ball left-footed towards goal instead of sweeping weaker right foot, see headed off line terry. late in second half of time, ball put out of play players treated cramp. in returning ball chelsea, carlos tevez put out throw-in deep in chelsea s half signalled teammates put pressure on restart. john terry , michael ballack reacted angrily , joined several of teammates, while manchester united s players rushed in protect tevez. ultimately, of 22 players involved in fracas. amid melée, assistant referee martin balko saw drogba slap nemanja vidić , reported incident referee Ľuboš micheľ. after showing yellow card ballack, micheľ showed red card drogba violent conduct, making him second player in history sent off in european cup final after arsenal goalkeeper jens lehmann in 2006.

penalty shoot-out

the players prepare penalty shoot-out.

as match went penalties, rio ferdinand won coin toss manchester united, , opted side go first in shoot-out, taken @ end housing manchester united fans. tevez stepped first , sent Čech wrong way. ballack next up, shooting powerfully past van der sar. carrick buried spot-kick, did juliano belletti first touch of game, having come on makélélé @ end of time. first miss of shoot-out came ronaldo, characteristically stuttered in run-up in attempt put Čech off, goalkeeper dived right save.

lampard put chelsea 3–2 ahead, hargreaves levelled things shot top corner. ashley cole next up, , van der sar got strong hand ball not keep out. nani knew had score keep united in it, , did, leaving john terry win cup chelsea; however, terry lost footing when planting standing foot ball, and, though van der sar sent wrong way, terry s mis-hit effort struck outside of right post , went wide.

anderson scored first penalty in sudden death. kalou sent van der sar wrong way make 5–5. giggs next , successful. van der sar pulled off crucial save united; pointed left indicate nicolas anelka thought kick side, had 6 players had kicked before him, correctly dive right deny anelka, kick @ height saved, securing european football s top prize united third time in history.

details
















statistics


uefa full time report
uefa full time statistics




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