Manchester United ● Road to The Champions League Final 2010/2011

The UCL final at Wembley is in touching distance now, just around the corner for Manchester United.. And one wise old knight has done it again. Sir Alex has led Manchester United to three Champions League finals in four years. Without predicting the victor, I’d like to point out that both teams have done incredibly well to reach this far, having conquered formidable opponents, and look forward to a great final. But, as of now, lets take a trip down memory lane, wrought in the recent past and see how the Red Devils made their way up to the finals, led by the seemingly unstoppable managerial force known as Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Group Stage:
Sir Alex’s boys were paired with Rangers, Valencia and Bursaspor in a mildly tricky group. They started off their campaign in lackluster fashion with a draw against Rangers at Old Trafford. This was followed by a nervy win against Valencia, which led many to think that this really wasn’t United’s year. Later though, In November and December, United picked up pace and got good away wins at Bursaspor and Ibrox to secure qualification into the round of sixteen.

Results:
Manchester United 0-0 Rangers
Valencia 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester United 1-0 Bursaspor
Bursaspor 0-3 Manchester United
Rangers 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester United 1-1 Valencia

Round of 16:
Manchester United were called up against French giants Marseille in the draw for the round of 16. The draw proved to be more tangled than it first seemed after United got away with a goalless draw at the Velodrome where Marseille were arguably the better side. Later, at home, the Devils scored thrice in a 2-1 win (Brown OG) with United new-boy and already cult hero, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez getting on the scoresheet twice. This saw them get through into the Quarter finals, where they would meet their most commendable opponents this season in Europe.

Results:
Marseille 0-0 Manchester United
Manchester United 2-1 Marseille

Quarter Finals:

United drew Chelsea, their fiercest rivals domestically in the English Premier league, in the Quarter finals of the Champions League. The first game at Stamford Bridge was decided by a Giggs pass and a Rooney goal, but in the end was subject to some controversy due to late claims of a Chelsea penalty. The second leg at Old Trafford was put to bed by Ryan Giggs‘ magic again. And though Dider Drogba came off the bench to give the visitors some hope with a well taken goal, Ji Sung park scored almost immediately to cut short Chelsea’s European dream, and extends United’s title hopes. Final score, 2-1 to United, with them qualifying for the Semi-finals where they would meet the winners of the Schalke-Inter tie.

Results:
Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea

Semi Finals:
Needless to say, Sir Alex was expecting to meet last year’s champions Inter at this point, when the QF draw was made, but instead, got to facing German opponents Schalke 04 who had comfortably dumped the Italians out of the competition in the previous stage. Yet, the same fate never seemed to linger for Manchester United as the Red Devils bombarded the home team with waves of attacks in the first leg, and eventually won 2-0, with Manuel Neuer being the performer of the night. The second leg scoreline was a bit more lopsided as a weakened United outfit saw off a comfortable win, opening the gates unto the final at Wembley.

Results:
Schalke 0-2 Manchester United
Manchester United 4-1 Schalke

….Which brings us to the present. Now. Manchester United are on the verge of a fourth Champions League medal which would serve not only as a glorious achievement for the club and its fans, but also as a slap for those who had written Sir Alex Ferguson and his team off, during the start of the season.
No one knows what the Future holds, all we can do is hope for the best.
Cheers to a probable fantastic final. May the team playing better football on the night be the eventual Champions of Europe.

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