Champion’s League Final, May 21st 2008

Manchester United-2 Chelsea-1

Yeah, that’s my prediction but with the way the Champion’s League has gone this year who knows. Manchester United, after wrapping up the Premier League title over the weekend, go into the final on May 21st with the most momentum. Alex Ferguson had an interesting way of explaining their momentum coming into the final in Moscow,

If we’d lost the title it would have been a great knock but we are bouncing into the Champions League final

Both Chelsea and Manchester United went into the final weekend of the season tied in points, but United’s win over Wigan Athletic, 2-0, and Chelsea’s 1-1 tie to Bolton gave United the cup. Chelsea goes into the final beat up after a long season of injuries and trade rumors that have slowed, but not stopped Chelsea. With questions surrounding Didier Drogba, and John Terry’s fitness coming into the match Chelsea will be coming into the game already down.

Although Drogba and Terry have confirmed that they will without a doubt be ready for the final, they will definitely not be 100%. Terry who dislocated his elbow on Sunday against Bolton and Drogba who hurt his knee assured the Chelsea faithful that they will be on the field when the whistle blows. This is what Drogba had to say about he and his captain,

He (Terry) will play in Moscow. No one wants to miss this gigantic match, the match of our careers.

There is less question about Terry who is arguably the toughest player in the world but more about Drogba. Drogba’s season has been riddled with knee injuries and it seems that he gets injured nearly every game. Drogba and Terry aren’t the only Chelsea stars who will be overcoming injuries for the final, Ricardo Carvhallo is also scheduled to come back after battling a back problem.

As for United, they come into the final relatively injury free and on fire. Cristiano Ronaldo won the English Player of the Year award after his most spectacular season yet. He has had 38 goals and has done nothing this year but prove he is the best in the world. His back to back awards as PFA Player of the year has made him the main target for Chelsea in the final. Ronaldo’s speed, agility, and sheer genius will be too much for Chelsea and their injuries. Chelsea will have to find a way to keep the ball on Frank Lampard’s feet and distribute vertically to Drogba to avoid Ronaldo. Against Barcelona, Ronaldo was given room to roam and just torched the Barcelona defense and midfield. Ronaldo is the key for Manchester United, and the only way Chelsea can prevent a Manchester United double will be to contain him. But, as I predicted before Chelsea will come up a goal shy and expect United to take home a 2-1 victory.

By Sean Connolly

With two games remaining, Chelsea and Manchester United are now tied for the lead in the Premier League. A bad week for United ended with as they lost 2-1 to Chelsea, and now both teams are tied with 81 points in first place.

The week began on Wednesday when Manchester United tied with Barcelona in the Champion’s League. The game could have been won, but Cristiano Ronaldo failed to convert a penalty early in the game. He shot wide right as they keeper dove left and could do nothing but put his head in his hands. The poor performance could have stemmed from the league complaining about Ronaldo’s approach to the penalty spot, calling it questionable. Obviously concerned, Ronaldo choked with an opportunity to steal an away goal in Barcelona.

As for the weekend in England, Chelsea pulled out an important win that left them tied for first. Just weeks ago it seemed as if Manchester United was unstoppable and en route to the title. Surprisingly, Arsenal is still in the mix after a 6-2 thrashing of Derby County. Arsenal sit 4 points behind both Chelsea and Manchester United. Although improbable, Arsenal stealing the title would only prove that this season has been one of the most unpredictable. Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal still has hope for Arsenal and is picturing them taking the title…

Nothing is Impossible. We have to win the next two games and then we’ll see. We are not the favorites, but you never know.

You never know is right. Arsenal were running away with the title coming down the stretch and suddenly gave the title to the streaking United with a string of poor results. Chelsea surprisingly, have been hanging around and now have momentum coming into the final two games of the season. Despite several Chelsea trade rumors, which included its coach, Chelsea has overcome outside talk and have played solid soccer down the stretch. I expect Chelsea to walk away with the title with United falling one point shy of glory.

Silvio Berlusconi, President of AC Milan, has now admitted that the cost of Ronaldinho may be too high. This has led to Manchester City and AC Milan rival, Inter Milan, to get into the mix. With the cost of the 28 year old superstar is too high because there is a lot of doubt surrounding the star. The Ronaldinho trade to AC Milan has caused quite a stir, but now it seems he may be open to more clubs who are willing to spend a great deal of cash. Here’s what SIlvio Berlusconi had to say about the transfer of Ronaldinho…

We still want him and we know he wants to come to Milan. But Barcelona have asked for a price which we feel is excessive.

Ronaldinho has had his worst season yet as he riddled with injuries and his fitness level has not been up to par. The uncertainty of Ronaldinho playing throughout a season is the main concern. He has only played 13 of Barcelona’s 30 games this year and will me the rest of the games. Who would pay so much for only 13 games a season?

I think Manchester City will take the risk of bringing in Ronaldinho. With young Kasper Schmeichel in goal for the next couple of seasons, Manchester City could have a solid young team in their hands. An addition of a superstar like Ronaldinho could bring them up to the top of the premiership table.