Man U 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 PK's)

I didn't make a prediction for this game because I just couldn't decide. Man U is loaded up front and they've been rolling all year long, with Cristian Ronaldo on his way to Footballer of the Year very much playing the role Kaka played for AC Milan last year on their way to the championship. Chelsea, too, is loaded (good god, Shevchenko doesn't even play!), but the Ballack/Lampard/Drogba trifecta disappoints as often as they succeed. I think my final thought was that Ronaldo would be the deciding factor, that his playmaking up the middle would spring Tevez or Rooney and that would be enough. Actually that didn't come to pass.

Rather than being the set-up guy, Ronaldo scored the one goal, a nice header in the box. (Incidentally Cech didn't even make a move on Ronaldo's header, not that he could've gotten it anyway, but even though his momentum was already moving in that direction, he didn't dive. Strange) Man U attacked well in the 1st half but did more to dominate time of possession more than the scoreboard. Without much possession Chelsea's attack never quite formed but Lampard was able to finish on a busted play, an example of perseverance and timing more than skill, just before halftime to even it up.

For the first 30 minutes or so of the 2nd half, Chelsea dominated the ball and Man U's attack effectively disappeared. The great Ronaldo was neutralized and Tevez and Rooney barely sniffed the action. Chelsea still couldn't score even though they had a handful of good opportunities. Michael Ballack alone shanked 4 or 5 good scoring chances (I'm not a Ballack fan, I find his game to be rather lumbering and imprecise, odd for a German midfielder).

In the 1st OT, there was kooky action galore with each team getting some wide open play in the box but neither converted. The 2nd OT was marred by a lot of chippy play as the rain picked up. Drogba got tossed, Tevez probably should have too and there were many yellow cards as the frustration really started to mount. The game started at 11pm local time in Moscow--amazing they'd start so late just to keep that time slot--and after 2 OT's and extended penalties, it must've been like 2 in the morning by the time it was all said and done.

The real story for me was John Terry failing to convert on the 5th PK that would've won it. The PK's were tight but Ronaldo's stutter step move didn't phase Cech and his lack of momentum made for an easy save. After that it was just a matter of Chelsea finishing off their chances. But Terry slipped on the wet turf and put the ball wide. Man, what a finish. From there the momentum shifted back to Chelsea and they took a few kicks later. PK's suck and that's a horrible way to finish the frickin' Super Bowl of Euro soccer but I gotta say this was about as exciting as PK's get.

I would've preferred that the weather held up a little better and obviously everyone wants more goals. All in all though a good game, an exciting match and in the end I reckon the better team won. There was plenty of heartbreak though. Terry, the English captain, failing to take the championship served up for him; Drogba getting tossed going into PK's; Ronaldo didn't have his usual impact; Tevez and Rooney were virtually invisible.