Route to the final 2008 UEFA Champions League Final

manchester united

manchester united beat lyon 1–0 in second leg of first knockout round tie @ old trafford.

manchester united drawn in group f along roma, sporting , dynamo kyiv. united won first 5 group games; first travelled lisbon, cristiano ronaldo s header secured 1–0 win against old club, sporting. next 1–0 win @ home roma, followed back-to-back four-goal victories on dynamo kyiv (4–2 in ukraine , 4–0 @ old trafford). united secured top spot in group 2–1 win @ home sporting in fifth game. travelled roma final group game, in both teams guaranteed progress; finished 1–1 draw, gerard piqué scoring second goal club before mancini s equaliser. united finished 16 points, of group winners.

in first knockout round, united drawn against lyon, against whom drew away leg 1–1, late equaliser carlos tevez. red devils won second leg 1–0 – ronaldo scoring goal – ensure 2–1 aggregate win , place in quarter-finals, again drawn against roma.

the quarter-final matches represented fifth , sixth times these 2 clubs had met in europe in on 12 months; had met @ same stage of previous season s competition , again in group stage season. united went rome , secured 2–0 win first-half header ronaldo , second-half goal tapped in wayne rooney. united went on secure tie in second leg 1–0 win, record 11th consecutive home champions league win.

the semi-final pitted united against barcelona; teams had not met since group stage of 1998–99 tournament, last time united won it. teams had identical records going semi-final, each having won 8 , drawn 2 of 10 games, scoring 18 goals , conceding five. first leg @ camp nou saw united spend of game defending, while barcelona tried pass ball around them. united awarded penalty in first minute, ronaldo sent ball wide, hitting stanchion behind goal. close either team got goal in first leg , ended 0–0. second leg @ old trafford game of higher tempo, united won 1–0 goal paul scholes after 14 minutes. result increased united s consecutive home win record in champions league 12 , ensured reached final unbeaten.

in reaching final, united won 9 , drew 3 of 12 matches, dwarfing record of 4 wins , 6 draws in 10 games took reach final in 1999 (when there no first knockout round , teams advanced group stage directly quarter-finals). united scored 19 goals en route final, ronaldo scoring 7 of them, more other player.

chelsea

the chelsea , liverpool teams line ahead of second leg of semi-final @ stamford bridge. chelsea won 3–2 after time (4–3 on aggregate) qualify final.

in group stage, chelsea drawn group b, along schalke 04 of germany, rosenborg of norway , spanish club valencia. chelsea s first match in group against rosenborg @ stamford bridge, held 1–1 draw. 2 days later, manager josé mourinho left chelsea mutual consent, , replaced director of football, former israeli national team coach avram grant. chelsea s second match against valencia, whom beat 2–1, leaving chelsea 4 points 2 matches. chelsea s next 2 matches against schalke 04. first match played @ stamford bridge, chelsea winning 2–0, while return match in gelsenkirchen ended in 0–0 draw. chelsea s final 2 matches in group resulted in 4–0 victory away rosenborg , 0–0 draw @ home valencia. chelsea progressed group winners 12 points out of 6 games.

chelsea faced greek side olympiacos in first knockout round. first leg in athens ended in 0–0 draw, 3–0 win in second leg, goals michael ballack, frank lampard , salomon kalou, saw chelsea through quarter-finals. there, drawn against fenerbahçe of turkey. first leg held @ Şükrü saracoğlu stadium in istanbul, , ended in 2–1 defeat, deivid made own goal scoring winner 9 minutes time after colin kazim-richards equaliser. chelsea won second leg @ stamford bridge 2–0, goals ballack , lampard, claim 3–2 aggregate victory on turkish side.

chelsea faced fellow english club liverpool in semi-finals. fourth year in succession these teams had met in champions league, following semi-final meetings in 2004–05 , 2006–07, , 2 group stage matches in 2005–06. first leg @ anfield 1–1 draw, in chelsea got 95th-minute equaliser through john arne riise own goal after dirk kuyt had put liverpool 1–0 before half-time. chelsea won second leg 3–2 after time, 2 goals didier drogba , 1 lampard sending blues through first champions league final in history.