Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice in 3-1 win as Man Utd make Champions League final in style
Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice in 3-1 win as Man Utd make Champions League final in style
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Sir Alex Ferguson's side arrived at the Emirates Stadium holding only a slender 1-0 lead from last week's first leg, but United scored twice in the first 11 minutes to set up a 4-1 aggregate triumph that booked their place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona, who meet in their decider tonight.
United, who beat Chelsea in last year's final, were given a helping hand from Arsenal as South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung punished an embarrassing slip from Kieran Gibbs to open the scoring.
Cristiano Ronaldo then deceived Manuel Almunia with a long-range free-kick, and the Portuguese striker put the result beyond doubt when he added his second goal after half-time.
No trouble
Arsenal barely tested United keeper Edwin van der Sar until Robin van Persie converted a late penalty after Darren Fletcher was sent off, ruling him out of the final, for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.
Even that couldn't detract from a fantastic display from United, who are the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997.
They were simply outstanding and exposed the flaws in Arsene Wenger's inexperienced, injury-hit team with ruthless efficiency.
No team has retained the trophy in the Champions League era, but United are hitting new heights and, with the Club World Cup and League Cup already won and the Premier League within touching distance, Ferguson and company are close to a memorable quadruple.
For once the normally subdued Emirates crowd were at fever pitch, but Ferguson had talked up United's intention to press for a crucial away goal and they were true to his word.
In the eighth minute, Anderson slipped a pass to Ronaldo down the left and the Portugal winger proved he had adapted to his new role as a lone forward by finding space in the penalty area to whip in a low cross.
Costly slip
Even then Arsenal should have cleared the danger but Gibbs slipped over and could only watch as Park took a touch before guiding his shot past Almunia. As Ferguson and his staff danced a jubilant jig you could feel the momentum draining from Arsenal. There was worse to come three minutes later.
When Van Persie fouled Ronaldo way out on the right flank, there appeared little danger.
But Almunia had reckoned without Ronaldo's flair for the unexpected. Ronaldo had scored from 40 yards to beat Porto in the last round and, from a similar distance, he took aim and launched a thunderous strike towards Almunia, who appeared to lose sight of the ball as it flashed past him at the near post. Wenger sat ashen-faced on the bench as Arsenal's proud record of 27 home European matches without defeat fell apart barely after the match began.
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