The Road to Moscow

Paul fires Manchester United into the Final

Manchester United and Chelsea face each other off for the final match of the season at the Luzhniki Stadium tomorrow. The holy grail of European Club football, the Champions League is up for grabs in the first all-English final in the tournament. United performed well in the group stages, garnering 5 wins and a draw while Chelsea had 3 wins and 3 draws. In the knockout stages, Man Utd overcame Lyon, Roma and Barcelona to seal the final spot. It was an excellent run-up to the final with Man Utd remaining undefeated for the whole course of tournament.

The greatest hurdle that United had to face was probably Barcelona in the semi-finals. The Catalans had a huge arsenal of talents at their disposal. One thing that probably gave United a slight edge is that Barca is currently undergoing through one of their most shittiest moment. Paul Scholes' screamer goal at Old Trafford and a clean sheet were enough to send United to their 3rd final in history. I think there would be some relief at Old Trafford that the penalty miss at Nou Camp did not return to haunt them. Like Giggs, Scholes is also a loyal servant of Man Utd. Much has been debated on the impact that he had on the team this season. A few of his performance had been lacklustre and recently, there's concern over some of his poor judgement on the field. These poor decision makings are usually his tendency to lunge into a player at the wrong time. It's kinda funny really cos Scholes has always being known to be a quiet guy outside the game but he could act savagely on the field at times.

Some pointed out that Scholes' time in the first team is coming to an end and that he should pass the baton to folks like Anderson and Hargreaves. However, on that semi-final night where it matters most, Scholes stood up to the task and rolled back the years to remind the fans why he is a Man Utd legend in the first place. In his younger days, his trademark scoring style and bossing the attacking midfield is like Lampard and Gerrard. Scholes' moment of brilliant in the form of the thunderbolt outside the box tells us why he deserves the midfield spot in the Final at Moscow. Paul was unfortunate in missing out from appearing in the 1999 Final through suspension. Now he can bury that ghost.

Who will get the last laugh at Europe? Will Ferguson get his 2nd Champions League title to his name or will Roman get his long lost unfulfilled wish in Chelsea? I dearly hope that Man Utd won't be mugged like in last year's FA Cup final where they virtually lost the endurance steam against Chelsea and allowed the Blues to pip one in. It seems that Chelsea loves to overexhaust their opponents and then catch them when they are not concentrating. They have peeps that could endure the physical 90 minutes plus extra time with no deficiency in performance. The United team may not be physically intimidating mammoths but I certainly believe that they have more flair and creativity compared to Chelsea.

All the best to Manchester United in Moscow. Hopefully, somebody from Old Trafford is gonna be a hero on 21st May :)

On a side note, below is a rather interesting ironic picture of Luzhniki. I bet Lenin will rise from his grave in shock to see what is happening to his former glorious red commy state.

Behold! Capitalist footie clubs right at Lenin's doorstep