I don't have anything to say right now in case people aren't watching. Just wanted to start the thread.

Go Chelsea!

Wow.

The first All-English Champions League Final produced a classic that was filled with drama and intrigue.

The first half was a thriller as Man Utd outplayed and outclassed Chelsea early on. 26th minute, a well placed cross by Wes Brown was converted beautifully by the Cristiano Ronaldo header into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Michael Ballack had a point blank shot denied by Edwin Van Der Sar a few minutes later... at the other end, Peter Cech made not one but two HUGE saves on Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick.

But then the turning point... with seconds left in the first half, Frank Lampard managed to sneak one past Van Der Sar to tie this game up at one. Clearly the pendulum of momentum was shifting towards Chelsea.

I was a little surprised to see Ricardo Carvalho's vicious tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo... could have broken his leg! Needless to say, I was holding my breath and thinking about Euro 2008... these guys will be teammates then... scary moment indeed.

Chelsea dominated the second half as Man Utd struggled to find any sort of rhyme or rythm. Best chance went to Didier Drogba who rang a shot off the post.

In Extra Time... more chances... Lampard hit the crossbar... and Man Utd came close to scoring... but none could find the back of the net.

Yet another turning point came in the second half of Extra Time... Didier Drogba slapped Nemanja Vidic in the face which was an automatic Red Card. It wasn't so much that Chelsea was down to 10-men, but more that they'd lose Drogba in the Penalty Kick Shootout.

In that shootout... tied up at 2... up steps Cristiano Ronaldo who's usually money on the spot... an unusually long delay led to a nice save by Peter Cech. If he would have scored, they would have redone the kick cuz of that delay... but since it was stopped they continued...

So it's tied at 4... last kick going to Chelsea Captain John Terry.. score and they win... and let's just say heartbreak for Chelsea as John Terry missed the net which forced sudden death shootout...

Tied at 5... Ryan Giggs, who was making his record 759th appearance for Manchester United, booted one into the back of the onion bag to give the Red Devils a 6-5 lead... so the pressure squarely on Nicolas Anelka...

The former French International needs to score to keep the shootout going... instead, Edwin Van Der Sar comes up with a magnificant save and the celebrations began from Moscow to Manchester... as for the third time in club history, Manchester United were crowned Champions of Europe!

For the first time since 1999, Manchester United have won the UEFA Champions League!

Impressive! Congrats Manchester United and all Mancunian fans!

My heart broke for Terry. I wanted to see Ronaldo stand in front of the apple cart so I could ask him how he liked them, but alas it was not meant to be I guess. I thought it was a very exciting matchup regardless of outcome. Drogba was on my list even before friends began to murmur that he wants out of Chelsea anyway and the slap might have been just a little bit intentional. I don't want to believe that. My soccer bud (BBM flame not the hottie neighbor) hates PKs to end games but I thought it was pretty sweet, especially with the Ronaldo miss. Why does he get to be in the convertible with the Cup? Sorry for the haterade, but ESPN2 announcers brought it out in me with their tone. When the world thought Chelsea was going to win - subdued - after Terry's miss - the inevitability of Man Boo winning and so much excitement! Until next year...