Manchester United and Chelsea Advance to Champions League Final
Chelsea defeated Liverpool 3-2 in extra time on Wednesday in a thrilling game that sends the Blues into the Champions League Final against Manchester United. Chelsea advanced 4-3 on aggregate goals. The game was an emotional one for the Blues after they squandered a 1-0 lead in the second half but Frank Lampard scored the go-ahead goal in extra time. It was the first match for Lampard since his mother died last Thursday.
Frank Lampard scored the penalty spot in the 98th minute. Didier Drogba added his second goal of the match in the 105th minute. “What a character Lamps is to come in on Sunday and train and try and block out what has been a terrible week for him and his family and everyone close to Frank,” Chelsea captain John Terry said. “I’m sure Frank will dedicate the goal to his mum tonight.”
Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel scored for Liverpool. “I thought we were very close. We played well in the second half, but the third goal killed it,” Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. “We had control of the game. We had two chances in extra time and we were in control and we were preventing them from creating.” Drogba scored the game’s first goal in the 33rd minute after nearly scoring a minute earlier. Torres scored the tying goal in the 64th minute for Liverpool.
The Soccer Betting Champions League final on May 21st will be the first all-English final. It is also a battle between the two top teams in the Premier League. It will be the first appearance ever for Chelsea in the final. They had reached the semifinals three times in the last five years and lost each time.
Manchester United reached the Champions League final on Tuesday with a 1-0 win at home against FC Barcelona. Paul Scholes scored the only goal in the 14th minute. The first leg was a 0-0 draw. It will be the third time that Manchester United plays in the final of the Champions League. “Well, we’re there and the important thing is they we are there and it doesn’t matter who we play,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “That will look after itself when it comes around. We needed a fantastic performance tonight and I think we got one. With our play at times up front we could have scored three or four goals.”
United played without Wayne Rooney who had a hip injury. Scholes definitely picked up the slack though. “It was a fantastic goal,” Ferguson said. “I don’t think we can expect Paul Scholes to score 10-15 goals a season like he used to do when he was younger. But he certainly delivered one tonight for us. It makes up for the all the goals that he can’t score because of his age now. It was a marvelous moment for him.”
The Champions League final on May 21st will be played in Moscow, Russia and the Russian Foreign Ministry is trying to make visa rules simpler for the 40,000 or more fans that are expected to make the trip to Russia.
