Chelsea vs Manchester United Review: Wayne Rooney's Goal Earns Champions League Victory

The last time Manchester United beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge—a 3-0 victory in April 2002 with Scholes, Van Nistelrooy and Solskjaer scoring the goals—the Russian oligarch watching from the stands was but a blip on the horizon. In the intervening period, Chelsea have emerged as a dominant force in English and world football, a challenger to Manchester United’s crown.

Last night, therefore, was more than a simple victory in a football match; it was a statement, a punch to the gut of the Abramovich empire—70 million, it said, that’s not going to get you anywhere.

The goal, arriving in the 24th minute, was a fitting winner for a match with such resonance in the scheme of this season. Michael Carrick, who had without a doubt his best game of the season, played a sumptuous sweeping ball over Jose Bosingwa’s head to the onrushing Ryan Giggs. The ageless Welsh wizard’s first touch was a delight as he brought it down and moved it past Bosingwa and into his path with the same touch.

Giggs got to the by-line and cut inside, before looking up and spotting Rooney lurking with intent 10 yards out. The ball was perfect, rolled across Rooney’s body to be converted with aplomb, struck wide of Petr Cech’s dive in off his left hand upright. Stamford Bridge was deflated. This wasn’t in the script; 50-million statue man Fernando Torres was supposed to extract himself from his transfixed state to actually contribute something to a football match for the first time in a while. Football though...it doesn’t run on scripts.

And so, that was it, the goal that settled the titanic clash of the two best teams in English football. Chelsea had their chances, two laughably poor attempts from the strolling statue key amongst them; his attempted overhead kick being the funniest attempt I have seen in a long time. Yet, while one voodoo was lifted, another was only exacerbated as Chelsea’s malaise in Champions League Competition shows no sign of abating.

On the day, Manchester United were superb. Stoicism personified in defence, where the irrepressibly Nemanja Vidic in particular was superb, whilst attacking with the verve and panache that was so evident in the second half against West Ham on Saturday.

Wayne Rooney appeared to be back to somewhere near his imperious best as he controlled proceedings all over the park. Chicarito Hernandez, built upon his incredible start to English football with another masterful display of off-ball movement and simple touch football of which he is so adept. His awareness to leave the ball for Rooney’s goal, for example, when he could quite easily have hit it, portrayed awareness most footballers could only dream of: Hernandez has it in bucket loads.

Michael Carrick, as mentioned before had, without a doubt had his best game in a United shirt this season; he was strong, his vision was excellent, he kept it simple when it needed to be. A few more displays like that and maybe, just maybe, we won't need to sell him after all. Alongside him, Park Ji-Sung gave a typical gutsy performance, but what really stood out was the propensity and success of his tackling. The South Korean was everywhere tackling hard but fair, winning the ball, playing it short; Peter Crouch would have done good to watch.

On the wings Giggs and the returning Antonio Valencia broke with speed and purpose and the entire defence showed the rest of Europe how defending is done. The only slight on what was otherwise a perfect game to be a United fan was the sight of Brazilian wonder boy Rafael carried of in a stretcher with a damaged knee. Such was Sir Alex Ferguson’s confidence that, like with West Ham on Saturday he moved a winger back to fill the fullback breach, for Giggs on Saturday read Valencia last night. The move worked, the script had already been written, it was United’s day in the sun.

Looking forward from here, it is hard to imagine a United capitulation in their own backyard, Chelsea have to win at Old Trafford—the Old Trafford where United have not lost all season. Unlikely I hear you say. So hypothetically speaking, United are in the semi’s almost certainly against Schalke, after the German outfits amazing 5-2 away victory over reigning champions Inter Milan. Undoubtedly, it would and will be a hard game, but for a Champions League semifinal to play a team who are currently 11th in the Bundesliga table, you really could not ask for anymore.

It has been 12 years since Beckham, Cole, Yorke et al lifted the trophy in the camp Nou to complete the historic treble. Now, 12 years later, the very same treble is on once more, and with the final of club football’s premier competition this year at none other than London’s Wembley Stadium, isn’t it time for history to repeat itself?

United vs. Real Madrid final.

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