Congrats to Manchester United!

Manchester United won the Champions League, 6-5 on penalties over Chelsea after playing to a 1-1 draw through 120 minutes at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. FAlex Ferguson wins his second Champions League title at the helm of United, and first since 1999. Chelsea remain without their owner's coveted European crown, and watching Roman Abramovich on television during penalty kicks, it's a safe bet to assume that he got really, REALLY drunk on some expensive Russian vodka last night after the crushing defeat.

And it was a crushing defeat for Chelsea. After conceding the opening goal and being on the back foot for the first 40 minutes of the first half, Chelsea were gifted an equalizer on a fortuitous deflection of an Essien shot that fell right to a rushing Lampard in stride, and suddenly the contest was level at 1-1 and Chelsea had confidence going into the locker room that they could play better in the 2nd half. They didn't just play better in the 2nd half, they dominated, but their touch in the final third still eluded them, and twice in the final 75 minutes the Blues hit the woodwork. They controlled possession in midfield, and completely denied any United chances save for one created by a stellar Patrice Evra run that led to Giggs' chance being heroically headed from goal by John Terry. Once 120 minutes were up, I felt that Chelsea had missed a golden opportunity to win, as they were the better team in the 2nd half. Still, once Cristiano Ronaldo duffed his penalty it looked as if Chelsea would waltz to the winners platform by virtue of a 5-4 spot kicks winning margin. But the Chelsea captain lost his footing on the game winner and sent his would-be winner into the post and out, giving United a new life.

And you can't grant a team like Manchester United new life, even on something as arbitrary and unpredictable as penalty kicks. Once Terry missed, there couldn't have been much doubt among the millions of spectators watching around the world that United woul prevail. Each of Alex Ferguson's three subs - Nani, Anderson, and Giggs - made their spot kicks, whereas one of Avram Grant's late subs - Nicolas Anelka - missed the clincher. And that was that. Manchester United are champions of the UEFA Champions League, and can proudly claim the coveted "double" for the '07/'08 season as winners of Europe as well as of England's top flight league.


Congratulations to Manchester United.