Manchester United won the European Cup and became European Champions for the third time last night as they beat Chelsea in Moscow in the first all-English European Cup Final and the first all-English Final of a major European tournament since 1972.
How fitting it was that United are crowned Champions of Europe in the year that saw them mark the anniversary of the Munich Disaster, when the plane carrying the Manchester United team on the way back from a European game, led by the great Sir Matt Busby, crashed at Munich Airport in snowy conditions, killing 23 people, including eight young Manchester United players - the team was known as The Busby Babes.
This year also marks 40 years since Manchester United first won the European Cup. They won it for a second time in 1999 and for a third last night.
Last night's all-English European Cup Final capped off a season in which English teams dominated in Europe, with four of the eight European Cup Quarter-Finalists and three of the Semi-Finalists being English teams.
Chelsea, meanwhile, ruined their chances of winning the European Cup for the first time, and being the first London team to do so, when captain john Terry slipped as he took a penalty during the penalty shoot-out and sent the ball wide - if he had scrored it would instead have been Chelsea who were crowned European Champions.
English teams have now won the European Cup a joint-record 11 times, the same amount as Italian and Spanish teams, but ahead of the French and Germans.
European Champions: Manchester United won Europe's top club trophy for the third time after they beat fellow English team Chelsea in Moscow, becoming Champions of Europe 50 years after eight United players died in the Munich Air Disaster
By Phil McNulty
BBC
EUROPEAN CUP FINAL: At the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. Attendance: 69,552
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (after extra time. United won 6-5 on penalties)
Ronaldo 26....................................Lampard 45
Manchester United won the Champions League by beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a dramatic 1-1 draw.
Cristiano Ronaldo headed United in front after 26 minutes but Frank Lampard equalised before the interval.
Lampard and Didier Drogba hit the woodwork before the striker saw red in extra time for slapping Nemanja Vidic.
Ronaldo missed his penalty, but John Terry hit the post with a kick that would have won it for Chelsea and Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka.
It sparked wild celebrations for Sir Alex Ferguson and his players in the Moscow rain as United won Europe's elite trophy for the third time, a triumph made more poignant as it came 50 years on from the Munich air crash.
Ferguson had made it his mission to take the trophy back to Manchester this year in memory of those who died, and those who survived, in the tragedy in Munich in February 1958.
And it gave the 66-year-old Scot his second Champions League triumph, repeating the success against Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.
Chelsea captain John Terry, who would have won the European Cup for his team had he not missed in the penalty shoot-out, is inconsolable at the end
Chelsea captain Terry had to be consoled by boss Avram Grant as he broke down in tears after missing the penalty that would have given his side the trophy.
He slipped in his run-up on turf made treacherous by a torrential downpour and sent his kick against the upright.
The penalty shoot-out capped a thrilling game with
passages of play of the highest calibre, with United dominating the first half but Chelsea showing huge reserves of character, resilience and ability to dominate after the break.
United may have been fuelled by the fates, however, and they rode their luck before Sir Bobby Charlton - a survivor of the Munich disaster - joined the players in the ceremony as they went up to collect their medals.
The opening exchanges amounted to little more than sparring, but the game burst into life after 20 minutes following an aerial collision between Paul Scholes and Claude Makelele that left both players with a yellow card and the Manchester United veteran with a bloody nose.
Ronaldo had been giving Michael Essien a torrid time, and his threat was transformed into tangible results after 26 minutes when he soared above the Chelsea defender to meet Wes Brown's cross and head his 42nd goal of the season.
Chelsea were almost gifted an equaliser in bizarre circumstances seven minutes later when Van der Sar was forced to claw away a header from his own defender, Rio Ferdinand, after Drogba forced Lampard's cross into the six-yard box.
Petr Cech somehow denied Manchester United a second in the 34th minute after a stunning move that swept from one end of the field to the other in an instant and left Chelsea exposed.
Wayne Rooney found Ronaldo with a raking pass, and his cross was delivered to perfection for Tevez, whose header was blocked by Cech - who then recovered to make a magnificent one-handed save from Michael Carrick's follow-up effort.
Tevez was denied again four minutes before the interval when he escaped the attentions of Makelele but could not slide in Rooney's low cross.
United were left to regret their missed chances when Chelsea took advantage of several slices of good fortune to equalise on the stroke of half-time.
Essien's shot was speculative at best, but two crucial deflections off Vidic and Ferdinand saw the ball fall kindly for Lampard, who slotted in a neat finish - and his celebration demonstrated that the goal was dedicated to the memory of his late mother Pat, who died in April.
Chelsea were transformed by the equaliser, passing with purpose and looking the more likely side.
And the much-debated Luzhniki Stadium pitch was suddenly starting to exert an influence, with both Ferdinand and Lampard suffering from cramp.
Drogba had been a peripheral figure for much of the game, but he produced a moment of brilliance with 13 minutes left when he curled a right-foot shot against the post from 25 yards.
There was a moment of history three minutes from the end of normal time when Ryan Giggs replaced Scholes to make his 759th appearance for United, beating the previous club record held by United legend Charlton, who was watching from the stands.
Terry slipped at the vital moment in the shoot-out
Chelsea boss Grant bizarrely left it until two minutes into extra-time to make his first change, sending on Salomon Kalou for the disappointing Florent Malouda.
The woodwork denied Chelsea again seconds later when a superbly disguised pass from Michael Ballack set up Lampard, but his shot rebounded to safety off the bar with Van der Sar beaten.
United were left cursing 10 minutes into extra time when Chelsea captain Terry headed off the line miraculously from Giggs after Patrice Evra had shown pace and strength to fashion the opening.
Rooney had suffered a frustrating evening, and he looked less than satisfied when he was hauled off as United introduced the pace and unpredictability of Nani.
Drogba was sent off four minutes from the end of extra time by Slovakian referee Lubos Michel for slapping Vidic after an ugly melee developed when Chelsea felt Tevez had been unsporting in returning the ball after a break for players to be treated for cramp.
Tevez and Carrick were on target for United as the shoot-out started, with Ballack and Juliano Belletti following suit for Chelsea.
Ronaldo then made a hash of his effort, stopping in his run-up before seeing his kick saved by Cech.
Lampard was successful from the spot and Owen Hargreaves scored under pressure before Ashley Cole's penalty took Chelsea to the brink of victory.
Nani scored to prolong the tension, but with defeat staring United in the face, Terry threw them a lifeline with his miss.
Substitutes Anderson and Kalou traded successful kicks before Giggs threw all the responsibility on Anelka as the shoot-out reached sudden death - and it proved too much for the striker, who saw his penalty palmed away by Van der Sar to crown United as kings of European football once again.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (Anderson 120), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Scholes (Giggs 87), Carrick, Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney (Nani 101).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, O'Shea, Fletcher, Silvestre.
Booked: Scholes, Ferdinand, Vidic, Tevez.
Chelsea: Cech, Essien, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Makelele (Belletti 120), Lampard, Joe Cole (Anelka 99), Drogba, Malouda (Kalou 92).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Shevchenko, Obi, Alex.
Sent Off: Drogba (116).
Booked: Makelele, Carvalho, Ballack, Essien.
Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea (Man Utd win 6-5 on pens): After long and expensive journeys, the fans finally get to the Luzhniki Stadium
Some followers of Sir Alex Ferguson's side wear commemorative clothing to remember the players who died in the Munich air disaster
Having both made the Man Utd starting line-up, Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo take part in the pre-match warm up
The players finally emerge from the dressing rooms shortly before 1945 BST as the opening ceremony comes to an end
The action gets under way and it is not long before Ronaldo is sent flying as he looks to find a way through Chelsea's defence
The Red Devils make the better start, with Wayne Rooney among those putting pressure on John Terry and his defensive colleagues
At the other end, Didier Drogba looks to go on a marauding run but Man Utd captain Rio Ferdinand intervenes to thwart him
A scuffle develops midway through the half when Paul Scholes collides with Claude Makelele going for a header - both get booked
The opening goal arrives in the 26th minute when a Wes Brown cross finds Ronaldo who leaves Michael Essien flat-footed to head home
The goal is the Portuguese's eighth of Man Utd's European campaign and sparks wild celebrations among his team-mates and fans
Both sides miss chances before Essien's shot deflects to Frank Lampard who equalises moments before the first half comes to an end
Essien is at the heart of the action again soon after the interval when he charges towards goal only to fire over from 25 yards
Vidic looks impressive in defence and repels a couple of further Chelsea attacks before having to help his captain recover from cramp
Chelsea create the better chances, forcing Ferguson to come off the bench and offer instructions to his players
The Blues almost take the lead in the 78th minute when Drogba's curling effort beats Edwin van der Sar but comes back off the post
Three minutes from time Ryan Giggs replaces Scholes to make his 759th appearance for United, beating Bobby Charlton's record
With the match going to extra time, Drogba gets himself sent off after slapping Vidic right in front of the referee
No further goals materialise and the match goes to a penalty shoot-out - Ronaldo is the first to miss before Terry slips to level things up
The teams successfully convert spot-kicks until Nicolas Anelka sees his effort saved by Van der Sar, handing the victory to Man Utd
Terry is inconsolable as he contemplates his missed kick which would have won the trophy for Chelsea
Ferdinand and Giggs hold the trophy aloft as Man Utd celebrate becoming European champions for the third time in their history
news.bbc.co.uk/sport
How fitting it was that United are crowned Champions of Europe in the year that saw them mark the anniversary of the Munich Disaster, when the plane carrying the Manchester United team on the way back from a European game, led by the great Sir Matt Busby, crashed at Munich Airport in snowy conditions, killing 23 people, including eight young Manchester United players - the team was known as The Busby Babes.
This year also marks 40 years since Manchester United first won the European Cup. They won it for a second time in 1999 and for a third last night.
Last night's all-English European Cup Final capped off a season in which English teams dominated in Europe, with four of the eight European Cup Quarter-Finalists and three of the Semi-Finalists being English teams.
Chelsea, meanwhile, ruined their chances of winning the European Cup for the first time, and being the first London team to do so, when captain john Terry slipped as he took a penalty during the penalty shoot-out and sent the ball wide - if he had scrored it would instead have been Chelsea who were crowned European Champions.
English teams have now won the European Cup a joint-record 11 times, the same amount as Italian and Spanish teams, but ahead of the French and Germans.
European Champions: Manchester United won Europe's top club trophy for the third time after they beat fellow English team Chelsea in Moscow, becoming Champions of Europe 50 years after eight United players died in the Munich Air Disaster
By Phil McNulty
BBC
EUROPEAN CUP FINAL: At the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. Attendance: 69,552
Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (after extra time. United won 6-5 on penalties)
Ronaldo 26....................................Lampard 45
Manchester United won the Champions League by beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a dramatic 1-1 draw.
Cristiano Ronaldo headed United in front after 26 minutes but Frank Lampard equalised before the interval.
Lampard and Didier Drogba hit the woodwork before the striker saw red in extra time for slapping Nemanja Vidic.
Ronaldo missed his penalty, but John Terry hit the post with a kick that would have won it for Chelsea and Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka.
It sparked wild celebrations for Sir Alex Ferguson and his players in the Moscow rain as United won Europe's elite trophy for the third time, a triumph made more poignant as it came 50 years on from the Munich air crash.
Ferguson had made it his mission to take the trophy back to Manchester this year in memory of those who died, and those who survived, in the tragedy in Munich in February 1958.
And it gave the 66-year-old Scot his second Champions League triumph, repeating the success against Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999.
Chelsea captain John Terry, who would have won the European Cup for his team had he not missed in the penalty shoot-out, is inconsolable at the end
Chelsea captain Terry had to be consoled by boss Avram Grant as he broke down in tears after missing the penalty that would have given his side the trophy.
He slipped in his run-up on turf made treacherous by a torrential downpour and sent his kick against the upright.
The penalty shoot-out capped a thrilling game with
passages of play of the highest calibre, with United dominating the first half but Chelsea showing huge reserves of character, resilience and ability to dominate after the break.
United may have been fuelled by the fates, however, and they rode their luck before Sir Bobby Charlton - a survivor of the Munich disaster - joined the players in the ceremony as they went up to collect their medals.
The opening exchanges amounted to little more than sparring, but the game burst into life after 20 minutes following an aerial collision between Paul Scholes and Claude Makelele that left both players with a yellow card and the Manchester United veteran with a bloody nose.
Ronaldo had been giving Michael Essien a torrid time, and his threat was transformed into tangible results after 26 minutes when he soared above the Chelsea defender to meet Wes Brown's cross and head his 42nd goal of the season.
Chelsea were almost gifted an equaliser in bizarre circumstances seven minutes later when Van der Sar was forced to claw away a header from his own defender, Rio Ferdinand, after Drogba forced Lampard's cross into the six-yard box.
Petr Cech somehow denied Manchester United a second in the 34th minute after a stunning move that swept from one end of the field to the other in an instant and left Chelsea exposed.
Wayne Rooney found Ronaldo with a raking pass, and his cross was delivered to perfection for Tevez, whose header was blocked by Cech - who then recovered to make a magnificent one-handed save from Michael Carrick's follow-up effort.
Tevez was denied again four minutes before the interval when he escaped the attentions of Makelele but could not slide in Rooney's low cross.
United were left to regret their missed chances when Chelsea took advantage of several slices of good fortune to equalise on the stroke of half-time.
Essien's shot was speculative at best, but two crucial deflections off Vidic and Ferdinand saw the ball fall kindly for Lampard, who slotted in a neat finish - and his celebration demonstrated that the goal was dedicated to the memory of his late mother Pat, who died in April.
Chelsea were transformed by the equaliser, passing with purpose and looking the more likely side.
And the much-debated Luzhniki Stadium pitch was suddenly starting to exert an influence, with both Ferdinand and Lampard suffering from cramp.
Drogba had been a peripheral figure for much of the game, but he produced a moment of brilliance with 13 minutes left when he curled a right-foot shot against the post from 25 yards.
There was a moment of history three minutes from the end of normal time when Ryan Giggs replaced Scholes to make his 759th appearance for United, beating the previous club record held by United legend Charlton, who was watching from the stands.
Chelsea boss Grant bizarrely left it until two minutes into extra-time to make his first change, sending on Salomon Kalou for the disappointing Florent Malouda.
The woodwork denied Chelsea again seconds later when a superbly disguised pass from Michael Ballack set up Lampard, but his shot rebounded to safety off the bar with Van der Sar beaten.
United were left cursing 10 minutes into extra time when Chelsea captain Terry headed off the line miraculously from Giggs after Patrice Evra had shown pace and strength to fashion the opening.
Rooney had suffered a frustrating evening, and he looked less than satisfied when he was hauled off as United introduced the pace and unpredictability of Nani.
Drogba was sent off four minutes from the end of extra time by Slovakian referee Lubos Michel for slapping Vidic after an ugly melee developed when Chelsea felt Tevez had been unsporting in returning the ball after a break for players to be treated for cramp.
Tevez and Carrick were on target for United as the shoot-out started, with Ballack and Juliano Belletti following suit for Chelsea.
Ronaldo then made a hash of his effort, stopping in his run-up before seeing his kick saved by Cech.
Lampard was successful from the spot and Owen Hargreaves scored under pressure before Ashley Cole's penalty took Chelsea to the brink of victory.
Nani scored to prolong the tension, but with defeat staring United in the face, Terry threw them a lifeline with his miss.
Substitutes Anderson and Kalou traded successful kicks before Giggs threw all the responsibility on Anelka as the shoot-out reached sudden death - and it proved too much for the striker, who saw his penalty palmed away by Van der Sar to crown United as kings of European football once again.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (Anderson 120), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Scholes (Giggs 87), Carrick, Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney (Nani 101).
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, O'Shea, Fletcher, Silvestre.
Booked: Scholes, Ferdinand, Vidic, Tevez.
Chelsea: Cech, Essien, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Ballack, Makelele (Belletti 120), Lampard, Joe Cole (Anelka 99), Drogba, Malouda (Kalou 92).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Shevchenko, Obi, Alex.
Sent Off: Drogba (116).
Booked: Makelele, Carvalho, Ballack, Essien.
Man Utd 1-1 Chelsea (Man Utd win 6-5 on pens): After long and expensive journeys, the fans finally get to the Luzhniki Stadium
Some followers of Sir Alex Ferguson's side wear commemorative clothing to remember the players who died in the Munich air disaster
Having both made the Man Utd starting line-up, Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo take part in the pre-match warm up
The players finally emerge from the dressing rooms shortly before 1945 BST as the opening ceremony comes to an end
The action gets under way and it is not long before Ronaldo is sent flying as he looks to find a way through Chelsea's defence
The Red Devils make the better start, with Wayne Rooney among those putting pressure on John Terry and his defensive colleagues
At the other end, Didier Drogba looks to go on a marauding run but Man Utd captain Rio Ferdinand intervenes to thwart him
A scuffle develops midway through the half when Paul Scholes collides with Claude Makelele going for a header - both get booked
The opening goal arrives in the 26th minute when a Wes Brown cross finds Ronaldo who leaves Michael Essien flat-footed to head home
The goal is the Portuguese's eighth of Man Utd's European campaign and sparks wild celebrations among his team-mates and fans
Both sides miss chances before Essien's shot deflects to Frank Lampard who equalises moments before the first half comes to an end
Essien is at the heart of the action again soon after the interval when he charges towards goal only to fire over from 25 yards
Vidic looks impressive in defence and repels a couple of further Chelsea attacks before having to help his captain recover from cramp
Chelsea create the better chances, forcing Ferguson to come off the bench and offer instructions to his players
The Blues almost take the lead in the 78th minute when Drogba's curling effort beats Edwin van der Sar but comes back off the post
Three minutes from time Ryan Giggs replaces Scholes to make his 759th appearance for United, beating Bobby Charlton's record
With the match going to extra time, Drogba gets himself sent off after slapping Vidic right in front of the referee
No further goals materialise and the match goes to a penalty shoot-out - Ronaldo is the first to miss before Terry slips to level things up
The teams successfully convert spot-kicks until Nicolas Anelka sees his effort saved by Van der Sar, handing the victory to Man Utd
Terry is inconsolable as he contemplates his missed kick which would have won the trophy for Chelsea
Ferdinand and Giggs hold the trophy aloft as Man Utd celebrate becoming European champions for the third time in their history
news.bbc.co.uk/sport