Moscow hoteliers, restaurateurs
and bar owners beware:
the English are coming.
In a thrilling week of
Champions League Soccer
action, British clubs
Manchester United and
Chelsea FC secured passage
to the final of the competition,
set for May 21 in the
Russian capital.
This will be only the third
time in the history of the competition
that two clubs from
the same nation will face each
other for the cup. It’s also the
first time that two clubs from
the Barclay’s Premier League
have clashed in the final,
which is essentially the
European equivalent of the
Super Bowl.
In the first semi-final of the
week, United met FC
Barcelona at Old Trafford,
their legendary home
ground.
Barcelona came out and
played their trademark brand
of pass-and-move soccer for
the first 10 minutes of the
match. The Manchester outfit,
playing without key men
Wayne Rooney and Nemanja
Vidic, seemed to have to
answers for the questions the
Spanish side were asking of
them.
However, in minute 14 of
play, Barca defender
Gianluca Zambrotta made a
careless pass on the edge of
his own penalty area. United
midfielder Paul Scholes intercepted
the Italian’s pass and
punished him for his mistake,
thrashing the ball past keeper
Victor Valdes from 25 yards.
A truly breathtaking strike
and United were up 1-0.
The goal seemed to give
United a much needed boost
of confidence, and for the
remainder of the game, they
looked the side more likely to
score again.
Barca played some attractive
passing soccer in the
middle of the field, but never
really seriously threatened
United. At the end of 90 minutes,
United prevailed, and
waited anxiously to see
which of their league rivals
they’d be facing for the cup.
In Wednesday’s all-English
semi-final, Chelsea met
Liverpool FC at Chelsea’s
Stamford Bridge, where the
London side has not lost to
English opposition in any
competition for over four
years. The first leg had ended
1-1 after Liverpool’s John
Arne Riise had scored a
shocking own goal in minute
95, keeping Chelsea in the tie.
The game promised attacking
soccer, which is a departure
from the historically
dull, defensive nature of this
fixture. Chelsea’s Didier
Drogba opened the scoring in
minute 32 on a trademark
rebound.
After the half time interval,
Liverpool’s Spanish goal
machine Fernando Torres leveled
the score. At the end of
regulation, the match
remained deadlocked.
In minute 98, Michael
Ballack, Chelsea’s German
international, was brought
down in the box, and Frank
Lampard stepped up to take
the penalty. Lampard had
been grieving the death of his
mother all week, and it was a
surprise that he had even
started this match. So when
he coolly buried the ball past
Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina,
he was understandably overcome
with emotion. It was a
touching moment for even
the most ardent Chelsea
hater. The Blues now had a 2-
1 lead.
Didier Drogba doubled his
tally in the 105, and put
Chelsea up 3-1. Although
Ryan Babel pulled one back
for Liverpool, it was not
enough. The match ended 3-
2, and Chelsea advanced to
their first ever Champions
League final.
As United and Chelsea are
also both vying for the league
title, this game carries a great
deal of importance for both
sides. The English league
will have concluded by this
time, so one of these sides
will have been crowned
Premiership champions. The
title race gives the cup final
much more weight.