2008 Champions League Final vs Chelsea

Lore & Background

In the penalty shoot-out, Cristiano Ronaldo missed Manchester United's third kick, giving John Terry the chance to win the title for Chelsea, only for his shot to hit the post when he slipped as he was about to kick the ball. Edwin van der Sar then saved Nicolas Anelka's effort from Chelsea's seventh kick to secure Manchester United's third European Cup title.

In Their Own Story

Moscow was drenched; the rain lashed down until the floodlights blurred into hazy halos and the turf turned into a slick quagmire. Cristiano Ronaldo stood over the opening penalty, his boots caked in mud, eyes locked on Petr Čech's goal. He struck it low and hard, sending the keeper the wrong way as the red section of the stadium erupted. But the night was far from won. As extra time dragged on, the tension became physical; every step toward the spot felt like a mile, the silence between kicks deafening. Then came the slip: John Terry, milliseconds away from sealing the title, lost his footing in the mud and scuffed his shot against the post. When the shootout finally reached its climax, Van der Sar guessed Anelka's direction before the ball was struck, diving to his left to make the save. The stadium exploded in a tangle of red and gold as players collapsed into one another, weeping with relief. The European Cup, stolen back from Chelsea's grasp, was finally United's again after nine long years.

Reader's Guide

The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, selected as the venue by the UEFA Executive Committee on 4 October 2006. It was the first European Cup final played in Russia and the easternmost final in the tournament's history. The match kicked off at 22:45 Moscow Time, making it the first Champions League final to start on one day and finish in the next.

Did You Know?

• It was only the third time that two clubs from the same country had contested the final, after 2000 and 2003.
• The final marked the 100th anniversary of Manchester United's first league triumph, the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, and the 40th anniversary of United's first European Cup triumph in 1968.
• More than 67,000 people watched the game in the stadium, along with more than 17.5 million television viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.