it's a mystical bond between man and machine

Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 8:43 PM

MANCHESTER UNITED - CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE AGAIN

United 1-1 Chelsea a.e.t.

6-5 on penalties

everyone scored until Ronaldo, of all people, missed his penalty. However, it was fate that decided that Terry, captain of the team he loves so much, had the responsibility of the decisive penalty, and he screwed it up. after Giggs scores his, Anelka's is saved by van der sar, making United champions of Europe again.

what an exciting match, totally not what most neutrals expected. a lot of drama too, and a brilliant Ronaldo header to silence his critics. was a great cross from Brown too, and on his left foot. however, Essien's deflected shot fell to Lampard who equalised just seconds before the half-time whistle. Chelsea came out in the 2nd half dominating, but United held on and it went to extra time, where United dominated. Drogba was shown the red card for slapping Vidic in front of the referee just minutes from the end of extra time, and it went down to penalties. Tevez, Carrick, Hargreaves (brilliant penalty into the top corner), Nani slotted their penalties home, and who should miss but Ronaldo, proven penalty scorer. it was a heart wrenching and an extremely tense moment as Terry stood up for the decisive penalty, but slipped and the tide suddenly turned. with a psychological advantage, Anderson and Kalou traded successful spot-kicks before Giggs, Ryan Giggs making the record number of appeareances (759 on the night) for United to coolly trick Cech and roll his penalty into the corner. and when van der sar saved Anelka's effort, it sparked wild celebrations.

all in all, a brilliant game from both teams, and it's great for Manchester United! =D