Manchester United 2007–08 football season
The 2007–08 temper was Manchester United ‘s 16th season in the Premier League, and their 33rd back-to-back temper in the top division of English football. The season was regarded as a success ; despite the team ‘s slow start in the league, they won their tenth Premier League title ( their 17th top division title overall, merely one behind Liverpool ‘s then record of 18 ) and beat Chelsea on penalties in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final to claim the European Double.
Although they won the 2007 FA Community Shield against Chelsea, the baseball club was not deoxyadenosine monophosphate successful in the domestic cup competitions, losing to eventual FA Cup winners Portsmouth in the Sixth Round, and losing to Coventry City in the Third Round of the League Cup. In February 2008, the club commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the Munich publicize catastrophe, as a resultant role of which eight Manchester United players and three members of the coaching staff lost their lives. The baseball club held a memorial servicing at Old Trafford on 6 February 2008, renaming the tunnel under the South Stand as the “ Munich Tunnel ”. This was followed on 10 February by the Manchester bowler hat. Manchester United took to the field in a ex post facto kit evocative of the kit worn by the 1958 team, abandoning police squad numbers in prefer of a 1–11 number organization. Manchester United ‘s players were besides successful on an individual grade in the 2007–08 season, with three players in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, while Cristiano Ronaldo picked up six individual awards, including the Premier League Golden Boot for his 31 league goals .
Pre-season and friendlies [edit ]
United began their pre-season in July 2007 with a go of the Far East where they played Urawa Red Diamonds, FC Seoul, Shenzen FC and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical ; they went undefeated throughout the entire tour, winning three matches and drawing one. Their next bet on took target back at Old Trafford, against Internazionale, followed by trips to Doncaster Rovers and Peterborough United, managed by Alex Ferguson ‘s son Darren. The following two matches were played simultaneously with first team coach Jimmy Ryan taking one squad to Scotland to play Dunfermline, while assistant director Carlos Queiroz took another group to play Glentoran in Northern Ireland. In January 2008, Manchester United played Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in a testimony match for Sami Al-Jaber as depart of a mid-season train camp, hosted by the Saudi royal kin. [ 1 ] United lost the pit 3–2 .
FA Community Shield [edit ]
In August, League champions United contested the Community Shield against Chelsea, the winners of the previous season ‘s FA Cup. The crippled finished 1–1 after 90 minutes, United winning the game on penalties .
Date
Opponents
H / A
Result
F–A
Scorers
Attendance
5 August 2007
Chelsea
N
1–1
(3–0p)
Giggs 35′
80,731
Premier League [edit ]
manchester United being crowned Premier League champions at the JJB Stadium on the concluding day of the season
Manchester United started the temper by drawing their opening two games against Reading and Portsmouth. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] United lost Wayne Rooney to a foot injury picked up against Reading and Cristiano Ronaldo to abeyance after he was sent off for appearing to headbutt Portsmouth ‘s Richard Hughes. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] A bowler hat kill to Manchester City saw the club steal into seventeenth place in the postpone. [ 6 ] Results elsewhere pushed them into the delegating zone for the first meter in years. [ 7 ] The following workweek at home to Tottenham Hotspur, Nani scored his first competitive finish for the cabaret to give United their first gear acquire of the season. [ 8 ] Two more 1–0 victories followed, first against Sunderland, where Louis Saha scored in his first game back from injury, and then away to Everton through a Nemanja Vidić header. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Next up were Chelsea, companion members of the Big Four who had parted caller with director José Mourinho lone two days earlier, following a run of poor form, appointing his adjunct Avram Grant in his place. Chelsea ‘s poor form continued into their adjacent match, and the Reds claimed a 2–0 victory, goals from Carlos Tevez and Louis Saha coming at the end of each half. After eight games of the season, United had conceded merely two goals, three less than at the same degree in the previous temper. however, the team was having perturb in front of goal, alone scoring seven goals in the same eight games. This changed on 6 October, however, when United exhaust Wigan Athletic 4–0, followed by their 7th and 8th consecutive league wins, both 4–1, against Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, the latter being their fourth consecutive plot in which they have scored four goals, the first gear meter in 100 years they had done then. United then travelled to London where they played Arsenal, in a very media-hyped plot, which ended 2–2 after a William Gallas equalizer for the Gunners in the last minute of arrest fourth dimension. Despite the Arsenal draw, United got back on cut by beating Blackburn 2–0 the watch week, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals in two minutes to secure the succeed. United ‘s ten-game unbeaten streak in the league came to an end when they travelled to the Reebok Stadium to play Bolton Wanderers, who beat them 1–0 with an early Nicolas Anelka goal. United returned to winning ways immediately, winning their future five games, including one against arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield, in which Carlos Tevez scored the only goal for a 1–0 acquire. United then completed a double over Merseyside teams in back-to-back weeks with a 2–1 victory over Everton, both goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, before completing a double over over Sunderland in the Boxing Day fastness, winning 4–0. The Sunderland game saw Ronaldo score his ninth goal in his final seven Premier League appearances, to extend his run at the top of the Premier League scoring postpone, while United welcomed Park Ji-sung second to the team following a nine-month lay-off with cruciate ligament price. With Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick unavailable ascribable to a viral infection, Carlos Tevez was given the opportunity to start the game on his return to his old club, West Ham United, on 29 December. United took the conduct on 14 minutes thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo header. Ronaldo had a prospect to double the lead with a penalty in the 66th minute, but he blasted the release stroke broad of the finish. West Ham capitalised on the error and, 10 minutes late, Rio Ferdinand ‘s brother, Anton, headed home plate the equalizer. then, precisely five minutes by and by, Matthew Upson scored the achiever for the Hammers to complete a trio of headed goals on the sidereal day. The passing, combined with Arsenal ‘s 4–1 get the better of of Everton late in the day, think of that United finished 2007 in second base place, with 18 games still to play .
The following bet on was a hard-fought 1–0 winnings over Birmingham City with the only goal coming from Carlos Tevez. Sir Alex Ferguson caused a minor controversy after the match, when he claimed that the air at Old Trafford was like a funeral. He late attempted to repair the damage when praising the away support when United went to Villa Park in the FA Cup Third Round on 5 January. The games against West Ham and Birmingham saw Ferguson endure a two-match touchline pause, given following his complaints to the referee in the defeat at Bolton Wanderers. The next game was against manager-less Newcastle United and was played immediately after Arsenal had been held to a 1–1 drawing card by Birmingham City. United went into the game knowing that a succeed would put them top of the league on goal deviation, but after dominating the first gear 45 minutes the score was still 0–0. however, in the second half, the goals started flowing ; Ronaldo opened the score in the 49th minute with a complimentary kick under the jump wall. Carlos Tevez doubled the tally six minutes belated, before Ronaldo scored again to make it three in the seventieth moment. Rio Ferdinand scored a rare finish in the 85th minute, volleying home from a narrow angle. Youngster Danny Simpson had a couple of chances, but he was denied by some good goalkeeping by Shay Given. then, in the last two minutes, Ronaldo scored his third for his beginning ever Manchester United hat-trick, and Tevez made it six in injury time. Newcastle ‘s captain, former Red Alan Smith, earned himself a loss card for his protests following the one-sixth goal. Wayne Rooney got himself on the scoresheet for the first meter in three Premier League games the follow weekend, scoring the opener in a 2–0 win over Reading. After a scoreless first half, Rooney opened the marking in the 77th moment, before Cristiano Ronaldo notched up his 23rd goal of the season to equal his run for the former season. The follow game pitted United against Portsmouth at Old Trafford. With Arsenal having beaten Newcastle 3–0 the former day, the burden was on United to pick up a succeed and go back to the lead of the mesa. They started well, going 2–0 astir within the first 15 minutes, but, despite what Sir Alex Ferguson claimed was one of the best performances of the temper, [ 11 ] they were unable to score again, and the game finished 2–0. Both goals were scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, who added the stimulate to the two he scored against Tottenham in the FA Cup the previous weekend, to take his total for the season to 27 goals in all competitions. The future game for the Reds was away to Tottenham. With Arsenal play and acquire again earlier in the day, a succeed was necessity for United to go back to the top of the league. however, Tottenham did their north London rivals a massive favor by going ahead in the 21st hour. They should have gone two up soon after, but a poor shot from Berbatov was saved by Edwin vanguard five hundred Sar. Spurs defended well for the remainder of the game, but conceded a volley goal from Tevez, who had been largely anonymous for the entire game, in the final minute. The solution meant that United were two points behind Arsenal at the lead of the league, but however four ahead of Chelsea, who drew 1–1 with Portsmouth. Seven United players were booked in the game at Tottenham, meaning that the club was handed a £25,000 ticket by the Football Association. This was the standard all right for any team that has six or more players booked during a crippled. however, had the like occurred again in the season, the very well would have been increased to £50,000. [ 12 ]
The Munich protection kit out The workweek following the Tottenham game was spent in remembrance of the Munich air travel disaster, the fiftieth anniversary of which fell on 6 February 2008. United ‘s base plot against Manchester City on 10 February was preceded by a moment ‘s secrecy in memory of those who died at Munich, and both teams wore special kits for the occasion ; United wore a kit alike in design to the kit worn by the 1958 team, barren of sponsors ‘ logos and the club cap, while Manchester City besides wore a kit without a sponsor ‘s logo and with a black ribbon embroidered on the right shoulder. however, on a day intended to be all about the crimson half of Manchester, the team in blue took the run after just 24 minutes. They then went 2–0 astir precisely before half time, with debutant Benjani head for goal. The Reds came out much stronger after the break, but were unable to score until the final examination minute, when Michael Carrick shot home from 18 yards. The future day, Arsenal beat Blackburn 2–0 to open up a five-point star at the top of the table. however, the Gunners lead was cut back to three points two weeks late. Arsenal drew 2–2 with Birmingham in the Saturday ‘s early kick-off, providing United with the opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table. They took the probability with great gusto, beating Newcastle 5–1, the second base time in the season that a regular between the two clubs had produced six goals. Wayne Rooney opened the marking for the Red Devils, before Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the lead merely before half-time. He then extended the star to 3–0 11 minutes into the second one-half with his 29th goal of the season. Newcastle clawed one back ten minutes from fourth dimension, but United replied immediately through Rooney, and Louis Saha finished the game off in the final minute with what turned out to be the french player ‘s final goal for the club before being sold to Everton in the summer. The Premier League ‘s top three kicked off simultaneously on 1 March. United were first off the target, as Owen Hargreaves scored his first competitive finish in a Manchester United shirt to put the Reds 1–0 up against Fulham. Chelsea then went 3–0 up against West Ham in the distance of five minutes, before Arsenal went 1–0 down to Aston Villa via a Philippe Senderos own goal. United were following to score, Park Ji-sung doubling their run. Chelsea got a fourth finish in the 64th hour of their match, before a Simon Davies own goal stretched United ‘s lead to three goals. however, barely when it looked like United would be returning to the top of the postpone for the first time in a month, Arsenal snatched a recently equalizer to remain a point clear at the top. With 10 games left in the season, United ‘s goal remainder seven goals better than Arsenal ‘s, and Chelsea still lone six points off the top two, this set up what was billed as one of the closest deed races in holocene years. [ 13 ] Following their exit from the FA Cup the former weekend, a stumble to Pride Park to play bottom-placed Derby County on 15 March looked to be the perfective opportunity for the Red Devils to bounce back and show their title credentials. however, the game did not prove arsenic bare as one would have expected, as United had to work hard for their pin down 1–0 victory. As was the shell with many of Manchester United ‘s games in the 2007–08 season, luck was not on their side in the opening exchanges of the plot. United goalkeeper Ben Foster, making his debut ascribable to the inaccessibility of Van five hundred Sar and Tomasz Kuszczak, then staked his claim to the number 1 jersey with a copulate of ticket saves from Derby striker Kenny Miller. Cristiano Ronaldo proved to be the irritant in Derby ‘s side on a number of occasions, testing early Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll with a curling attempt hit with the outside of his foot and a 40-yard free kick. The discovery finally came in the 76th moment, Ronaldo scoring a deserve goal from a Wayne Rooney hybridization. With Arsenal merely managing a draw against ten-man Middlesbrough in the day ‘s deep kick-off, United ‘s win put them on top of the table on goal dispute with a game in hand. That game in hand was played four days late, with United playing host to Bolton Wanderers on 19 March. Man Utd started the game at their common fast yard, and it took merely nine minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo, the team ‘s captain for the sidereal day, to find the back of the net after Carlos Tevez ‘s ailing shoot bicycle kick was saved. That goal brought Ronaldo level with George Best ‘s phonograph record of 32 goals from midfield in a season, but only ten minutes late, the record was broken. Fouled about 10 yards outside the penalty area, Ronaldo set himself up for one of his hallmark release kicks ; one dip shoot later, the score was 2–0. The tone of the game changed from that item on, as United began to relax into a groove, but, as has happened indeed many times this season, despite the threat of a high-scoring game, no more goals were to come. Both teams posed threats to the other ‘s goal, with Bolton managing to get the ball into the Manchester United net doubly in the second half, only to have the goals ruled out for assorted reasons, while both Nani and Carlos Tevez wasted as many chances between them as the rest of the United team put together. however, the gain put United three points clear at the top of the mesa with eight games left to play. With matches between Manchester United and Liverpool and Chelsea and Arsenal scheduled, 23 March 2008 was dubbed “ Grand Slam Sunday ” by Sky Sports. Manchester United kicked off the day ‘s action, knowing that they could put pressure on both Arsenal and Chelsea by winning. however, the Red Devils took a while to get into their footstep and Liverpool controlled the beginning ten-spot minutes. hush, it was United who created the first probability of the game, although Wayne Rooney was unable to beat Pepe Reina after Anderson ‘s through-ball. A few minutes late, Javier Mascherano was booked for a heedless challenge on Paul Scholes. The Argentinian was unimpressed, and continued to contest reviewer Steve Bennett ‘s decisions as the game went on. The first finish of the game came in the 34th moment, through the most improbable of goalscorers. After robbing Steven Gerrard of the ball two-thirds of the manner up the airfield, Wes Brown continued his run into the Liverpool box, and found himself on the end of Wayne Rooney ‘s cross, heading past a less than confident Reina. then, a few minutes before half-time, Liverpool were awarded a free-kick just inside the United one-half. Believing that Paul Scholes deserved a yellow card for the challenge, Fernando Torres remonstrated with referee Bennett, for which he earned himself a yellow card. Incensed by his teammate ‘s punishment, Mascherano rushed in to make his own protest. The referee, though, was not identical centripetal to Mascherano ‘s protest, and gave him a irregular yellow card for protest, sending him off. With Liverpool down to ten men, Manchester United were nowadays able to control the tempo of the game as they wished. The Red Devils pushed forth in search of a moment finish, and Liverpool continued to weather the storm, but, with 10 minutes to go, United last found the goal they were looking for. Nani, just on as a substitute, took a corner from the leftover hand side, which Cristiano Ronaldo headed in from seven yards ; his first goal against Liverpool. then, two minutes later, Nani combined well with Wayne Rooney, playing a one-two with the striker, before firing the ball home from 20 yards to make the final score 3–0. The gain put United six points ahead of Arsenal with seven games left to play, and meant the Gunners had to win their pit against Chelsea former that afternoon. Chelsea, however, came from behind to pull off a 2–1 victory. This motivate Chelsea into second stead, five points behind Manchester United. Man Utd ‘s game against Aston Villa was the late kick-off on 29 March, which allowed Arsenal to pull back United ‘s lead in the league to just three points with a 3–2 win over Bolton. This mean that the Red Devils would have to win to restore their six-point lead over Arsenal ; and win they did, as they put four goals past Martin O’Neill ‘s side. villa were foremost to threaten either goal, but it took just 16 minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo to get the opener, back-heeling the ball through Martin Laursen ‘s leg and past Scott Carson in the Villa finish. Ronaldo then turned supplier for the second goal on 33 minutes, Carlos Tevez heading home the Portuguese ‘s crabbed at the back post. The loudest cheers of the game, though, did not come until after half-time, as Wayne Rooney, who had not scored at Old Trafford since October, bagged a brace. Ronaldo supplied the first, back-heeling the ball to the England striker, who rounded Carson before passing the ball into the net. Ronaldo then provided the serve for Rooney ‘s moment, nutmegging an Aston Villa defender to play Rooney in. Heartened by his first goal in six games, Rooney finished the affect with a cool photograph, beating Carson on his about station. Rooney about made it a hat-trick a few minutes later, but he was deemed to be marginally offside at the time of Owen Hargreaves ‘ crisscross .
United were chosen to play on the Sunday of the pursue weekend, allowing the two chasing teams, Arsenal and Chelsea, to close the col at the lead. Arsenal played first, but could only draw with Liverpool, while Chelsea managed a 2–0 victory over Manchester City in the 3 o’clock beginning. That closed the gap at the top to two points, putting pressure on United to pick up points against Middlesbrough, who are often regarded as one of their “ bogey teams ” in recent years. [ 14 ] The Red Devils started well, and were 1–0 up within 10 minutes after Ronaldo stabbed home Michael Carrick ‘s square ball across the six-yard box. United continued to make chances, and looked to be coasting to a comfortable victory until Afonso Alves netted his first goal in English football after 35 minutes. The brazilian bagged his second ten minutes into the second half, and things looked desperate for United. Worse still, after 70 minutes, with United already missing Nemanja Vidić through injury, Rio Ferdinand looked to have picked up an injury himself and was replaced by Gerard Piqué. It was Piqué ‘s mate substitute, Park Ji-sung, who fashioned the counterweight, though, as he checked back inside Andrew Taylor before squaring the ball to Wayne Rooney, whose distract inject found its way past Mark Schwarzer in the Middlesbrough goal. United continued to press forward in search of the winner to take the gap at the top of the table second to five points, but about gave away a goal in the process. Van five hundred Sar capped a solid display by blocking Tuncay ‘s late campaign.
Read more: Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
The Red Devils ‘ future game was against Arsenal the follow Sunday, in a six-pointer that would either rule Arsenal out of the claim race or bring them right back into it. A United win would put them six points ahead of their nearest league rivals, Chelsea, and nine ahead of Arsenal, and with Chelsea playing the trace day, a gain was all-important to put pressure on the Blues. Arsenal started the peer well, and looked to take the game to United through swerve animal push, attacking with tempo and power. indeed, they created the best chances of the half, United ‘s best opportunity falling to Wayne Rooney, who refused to go down under the challenge of Kolo Touré, before seeing his shot saved by the animal foot of Jens Lehmann in a one-on-one situation. The first half finished scoreless, but it was not long into the moment half before the crowd saw the inaugural goal of the game. It was a controversial finish, however, as it seemed that Emmanuel Adebayor had played Cesc Fàbregas ‘ traverse into the net with his impart arm. Nevertheless, referee Howard Webb gave the goal, seeing nothing faulty with it. Just five minutes former, though, United hit back. Michael Carrick played the ball into the Arsenal penalty area, where it was handled by William Gallas, and the referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty. As expected, Cristiano Ronaldo took province for the penalty, and coolly swept it into the leave english of the net. however, he was made to take the kick again as Park Ji-sung was deemed to be encroaching on the penalty area before the gripe. Ronaldo was barely deoxyadenosine monophosphate successful with his second undertake, burying the ball in the bottom left-hand corner. In an try to force the write out by going for the winner, Alex Ferguson brought on Carlos Tevez and Anderson in place of Park and Scholes. The Reds were cutting it very well, as Van five hundred Sar was forced to make two reflex saves from his own defenders, Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand. Tevez then sent a warning shoot across the Arsenal bow, shooting narrowly wide from 25 yards. then, with 20 minutes to go, Patrice Evra was brought down precisely outside the Arsenal box. With the Arsenal defense mechanism expecting a distinctive Ronaldo free-kick, they were caught off guard when Owen Hargreaves played an immaculate free-kick over the wall, dipping into the bottom left corner of the goal, leaving Lehmann rooted to his goal line. United continued to press, not giving Arsenal an inch, and though Van five hundred Sar was called on to save a heading from Nicklas Bendtner, the Red Devils managed to hold onto their lead and extend their lead at the top of the table. Chelsea, now the only team with a realistic find of stopping United winning the entitle failed to reduce the leave to three points the surveil day, only managing a 1–1 hook at home to Wigan Athletic. They followed this up with a 1–0 win over Everton the trace Thursday, reducing the lead to two points with merely three games remaining, although United now had a game in hand. On 19 April, Blackburn Rovers welcomed Manchester United to Ewood Park, where the Red Devils had only managed to win once in their last eight visits. With Chelsea having beaten Everton two days earlier, United went into the game only two points of ahead of the Blues, which meant that get the better of against Blackburn would give Chelsea the opportunity to leapfrog United in the teams ‘ meeting the follow weekend. Despite a promise start, United fell behind in the 21st moment thanks to a Roque Santa Cruz finish – his 16th of the season. United had dominated large parts of the catch, but were unable to make a discovery. finally, with just two minutes left in normal time, Carlos Tevez headed home from Paul Scholes ‘ flick-on to salvage a crucial point for United in the backing raceway. If United were to beat Chelsea in their future match, they would then require just one point from their remaining two games to secure the title. If they failed to win at Stamford Bridge, however, they would need to win both of their stay games. And fail to win they did, losing 2–1 to a Chelsea side that had had an extra day to recuperate from their Champions League connect against Liverpool in mid-week. Coming off the back of a poor display in Barcelona, United were looking to cement their claim to the Premier League title, which would have been all but won with a winnings over Chelsea. however, with respective players rested with Barcelona on Tuesday in mind, and Nemanja Vidić having to be substituted early on after a knee to the confront, the odds never looked in United ‘s favor. Owen Hargreaves took Vidić ‘s home in defense, with Wes Brown switching from right-back to centre-back. Joe Cole had the first real prospect, but could only smash the testis into the carpentry from 18 yards after he regained the ball from a hapless headroom. United held out for 45 minutes, but last went behind on the throw of half-time to a Michael Ballack header, after the german had lost his marker to find board at the back post. After the break in, United came out a fresh team, taking the game to Chelsea. After 57 minutes, United conceded a free kick just inside Chelsea ‘s half, but a poor back happen from Ricardo Carvalho allowed Wayne Rooney to pounce on the ball and place a guess beyond Petr Čech into the corner of the final, his first career goal against Chelsea. however, he appeared to have injured himself during his celebration and was soon substitute, making way for Cristiano Ronaldo. The game went lull for the concluding 20 minutes, until a Michael Essien cross was handled by Michael Carrick equitable inside the United penalty area with four minutes left to play. Referee Alan Wiley pointed to the spot, and Ballack stepped up to convert and give Chelsea the gain. United went all out for a much needed counterweight, but the closest they came were two shots blocked on the wrinkle by Ashley Cole and Andriy Shevchenko. The result brought Chelsea level on points with United with two games to go, United holding on to top spot by virtue of their +53 finish remainder. This nowadays meant that United would have to win both of their remaining games to secure the entitle, provided that Chelsea did not drop any more points. The first base of United ‘s last two games was at home to West Ham United at noon on Saturday, 3 May. Needing the succeed, United got murder to a great start, as Ronaldo put them ahead in the third base minute with a deflect shoot. 20 minutes former, he got his second gear of the game and 30th league goal of the season. West Ham failed to deal with Owen Hargreaves ‘ left-footed cross, which dropped onto Ronaldo ‘s thigh and bounced over the line. Former West Ham player Carlos Tevez made it 3–0 in the 26th infinitesimal, rifling a 25-yard shoot over Robert Green in the Hammers finish. however, Dean Ashton pulled one back for West Ham with an audacious bicycle kick after Wes Brown ‘s clearing header only went directly upwards. Just before half-time, as West Ham were looking to be settling into a rhythm, an affray between Lucas Neill and Nani resulted in the Portuguese international headbutting the australian, before going to ground himself, only to find a crimson poster waiting for him when he got back to his feet. This left United a serviceman down, with a wholly half left to play. Nevertheless, despite the man advantage, West Ham were unable to capitalise, and ended up going 4–1 down in the 59th moment. Michael Carrick picked the ball up in midfield off a poor West Ham headroom, before letting rake from 30 yards. His shoot took a large deflection off Lucas Neill, wrong-footing Robert Green, and the musket ball nestled in the bottom-left corner of the net. Darren Fletcher besides came close to scoring late in the game, after coming on as a substitute, but his blast deflected back off the inwardly of the post. The match finished 4–1 to United, but Chelsea ‘s succeed against Newcastle United two days former kept the two teams level on points, meaning that the title subspecies would go to the survive day of the season for the inaugural time since 1999. Manchester United went to Wigan on the concluding day of the season, knowing that they needed lone to equal or better Chelsea ‘s result against Bolton in order to be Premier League champions, due to their superior finish deviation. Wayne Rooney was named in the United starting batting order despite concerns over his seaworthiness, while Nemanja Vidić made a reelect to the side for the first gear prison term since his concussion against Chelsea. Wigan started the bet on with an aggressive brain, closing down the United players at every opportunity. Paul Scholes was booked early on for a undertake from behind on Wilson Palacios, but the Latics then had a punishment shout turned depressed in the 24th minute, when a Jason Koumas shoot appeared to deflect off Rio Ferdinand ‘s outstretched upper arm. Wigan ‘s anguish was then compounded when referee Steve Bennett awarded United a penalty for Emmerson Boyce ‘s foul on Wayne Rooney. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty, which he converted, equalling Alan Shearer ‘s record for the most goals in a 38-game temper with 31 goals. soon after, Scholes was fortunate not to be sent off when he cynically brought down Wilson Palacios. Steve Bennett chose to keep his cards in his pocket. In the second half, United continued to test the Wigan goal, but goalkeeper Chris Kirkland was up to the tax, producing a number of good saves. Paul Scholes was brought down in the box by Titus Bramble early in the half, but the referee was not positioned well enough to be able to give it. With 25 minutes to go, Alex Ferguson brought on Owen Hargreaves to shore up the defense, and Ryan Giggs, who equalled Bobby Charlton ‘s baseball club appearance commemorate with his 758th appearance in a United shirt. appropriately, it was Giggs who got United ‘s second finish of the game, slotting the ball past Kirkland after Wayne Rooney played him in with a slide-rule pass. A last-minute equalizer by Bolton against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge ensured that United ‘s championship did not have to be decided by finish deviation, and it left the Red Devils as the champions of England for the seventeenth time, precisely one short of Liverpool ‘s record of 18 titles .
Matches [edit ]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
For further information on European qualification see
( C ) Champion informant : Premier League Rules for categorization : 1 ) points ; 2 ) finish difference ; 3 ) number of goals scored.For far information on european reservation see Premier League – Competition Champion
FA Cup [edit ]
The draw for the FA Cup Third Round paired United with Aston Villa for the one-fourth time in seven years. [ 15 ] The match was played at Villa Park on 5 January 2008, [ 16 ] United winning 2–0 with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. United were given a home pull back against Tottenham Hotspur in the Fourth Round and won the bet on 3–1. [ 17 ] After going a goal down to a Robbie Keane hit, United drew floor with Carlos Tevez, before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the other two goals ; one a penalty after Michael Dawson was sent off for a deliberate handball. The Fifth Round draw was held on 28 January 2008, with United facing the possibility of drawing one of five other Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. As it was, United drew Arsenal, pitting the current top two teams in the Premier League against each other in the only all-Premier League tie of the round. [ 18 ] The match was played on 16 February 2008, [ 19 ] with United running out as 4–0 winners, the goals coming from Rooney, Darren Fletcher ( 2 ), and Nani. The draw for the Sixth Round took place on 18 February 2008, and drew United at home against Portsmouth. [ 20 ] The bind, which was the only all-Premier League necktie of the round, was played on 8 March 2008. [ 21 ] United went into the game with the prospect of another Treble still on the cards, and started the match entire of confidence. however, when the referee, Martin Atkinson, failed to award the Red Devils a penalty in the seventh infinitesimal after Sylvain Distin clearly bodychecked Cristiano Ronaldo, it was clean that it was not to be United ‘s day. United continued to produce the better of the chances in the beginning half – Portsmouth ‘s best feat was a swerving 25-yarder from Pedro Mendes that tested Van five hundred Sar to the extent that the Dutch custodian injured himself and had to be substituted at half-time. United ‘s chances continued to flow thick and fast. Michael Carrick rounded the goalkeeper lone to be tackled on the line by Distin, whilst Patrice Evra had a shoot turned onto the post by David James before things went from badly to worse for the Manchester side. With 12 minutes to play, Portsmouth counter-attacked down the proper handwriting side, forcing a two-on-two site. The ball was squared to Milan Baroš, who was felled by Kuszczak in the box. The reviewer had no hesitation in sending Kuszczak off, despite both Rooney and Anderson having gotten back behind the ball before the filthy. Nevertheless, referee Atkinson ‘s decision meant that United had no recognised goalkeeper available for the remain time. Wayne Rooney offered his services, but that would have left United without a spot centre-forward, so Rio Ferdinand was given the province of attempting to save the punishment. however, although he dived the right way, Ferdinand was unable to get a hand to the ball, and Sulley Muntari gave Portsmouth the lead. United fought heavily to get their deserved equalizer, but even Ronaldo ‘s spare kick was off-target, and United were knocked out of the FA Cup .
League Cup [edit ]
United played their only League Cup game of the season when they lost 2–0 at home to Coventry City, both goals scored by Michael Mifsud. Two players – Jonny Evans and Danny Simpson – made their first gear team debuts in the match, while a promote six players made their first starts of the season .
Date
Round
Opponents
H / A
Result
F–A
Scorers
Attendance
26 September 2007
Round 3
Coventry City
H
0–2
74,055
UEFA Champions League [edit ]
Group stage [edit ]
United were drawn into a group with Sporting CP, the former baseball club of Cristiano Ronaldo and new bless Nani, Dynamo Kyiv, and Roma, who suffered a huge 7–1 loss to the Red Devils in the 2006–07 season. United started their Champions League campaign with a 1–0 win against Sporting, which they followed up with another 1–0 winnings, this meter against Roma. United ‘s victorious streak in Europe continued when they won their pit against Dynamo Kyiv 4–2 in Ukraine, with goals coming from Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo ( 2 ). United sealed their seat in the hard phase with a 4–0 succeed in the fall game against Dynamo Kyiv, with goals from Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Gerard Piqué got his beginning ever senior goal for the baseball club. The team went into the future game against Sporting knowing that a gain would secure top spotlight for them. however, they went 1–0 toss off after fair 21 minutes through an unexpected goal from Abel Ferreira. It took United another 40 minutes to get an equalizer, as Carlos Tevez scored a scrappy goal in the 61st minute. just when it looked like United were about to settle for a draw, they won a free kick back in the 92nd minute. Up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo, who lashed the free kick into the far top corner of the internet to win the match 2–1. That left the final game in the group without consequence, and so Sir Alex took a youthful squad with him to Rome, including six players so far to make their senior debuts for the club. Although none of the six made the begin line-up, it was another of United ‘s youth players, Piqué, who scored the hatchway finish in the 34th infinitesimal. however, the Reds were denied maximum points from the group stage by a 71st-minute goal from Mancini. Nevertheless, the 16 points they did pick up in the six games was the most of any team in the group stage .
Knockout phase [edit ]
The first smasher round draw took home on 21 December, and paired Manchester United with Lyon of France. The last ( and entirely ) clock time United were paired with Lyon was in the group stage of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, in which the off tie finished as a 2–2 draw, while United won the family leg 2–1. The away branch was played on 20 February, and saw Lyon go 1–0 up in the 54th moment, through a Karim Benzema shoot that went in off the post. Carlos Tevez rectified the situation in the 87th minute, pulling United floor to make sure that the Red Devils were in half-decent shape for the hark back stage on 4 March. Manchester United started the second leg brilliantly, probing the Lyon defense for gaps, but to no avail as Lyon gradually fought their direction back into the game, knowing they had to score at least once to qualify for the quarter-finals. however, as half-time approached, Wes Brown made an imbrication run, before delivering a crossbreed that found its way to Anderson on the border of the sphere. The brazilian side-footed the ball goalwards, and the ball broke to Cristiano Ronaldo who fired the ball home from an ever-narrowing lean. however, no more goals were to come, Lyon ‘s Kader Keïta coming the close as he hit the post in the 74th moment. Nevertheless, United qualified for the quarter-finals, the first leg to be played on either 1 April or 2 April. The hook for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the Champions League was held on 14 March 2008. Despite english teams making up half of the numbers in the draw, United were drawn with A.S. Roma. This tie will see the fifth and one-sixth times that the Red Devils have played against their italian rivals in the death 12 months ; the former four matches resulted in two wins, a draw and a loss, including United ‘s Champions League phonograph record 7–1 succeed in the 2006–07 quarter-final. The winner of this quarter-final would meet either Schalke or Barcelona in the semi-finals, before facing Arsenal, Liverpool, Fenerbahçe or Chelsea in the concluding, setting up the expectation of an all-English final. The inaugural stage of United ‘s quarter-final against Roma was played at the Stadio Olimpico on 1 April 2008. Ryan Giggs started the match on the bench, which meant that Rio Ferdinand was handed the captainship and Park Ji-sung was given his beginning Champions League appearance of the temper, while Michael Carrick was able to take his position in the midfield three despite having missed the team ‘s trail seance the day before. The match started fairly evenly, but it was Roma who had the first base meaningful undertake on goal, with christian Panucci head fair over from a corner. On the half-hour, United ‘s defense suffered a major reverse as Nemanja Vidić fell awkwardly after jumping for a header. His space in central defense was taken by John O’Shea. Nevertheless, with just five minutes of the half remaining, the ball broke to Paul Scholes on the right hired hand side of the Roma penalty area. With his options limited, he played a ball at head-height into the center of the punishment area, where Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just run entire speed from near the center traffic circle, was quick to power a header past Roma keeper Doni. Buoyed by the cushion of the aside goal, United started the second half confidently, prising a desperate Roma side apart with wrinkle passing along the floor. On the hour crisscross, in reply to a header on goal by Mirko Vučinić that brought about a global classify save from Edwin avant-garde five hundred Sar, Alex Ferguson called for his team to adopt a more conservative formation, bringing on Owen Hargreaves to replace Anderson. United seemed more comfortable play in a 4–4–2 formation, and the change paid immediate dividends, as Rooney pounced on Doni ‘s mismanage of Park ‘s header to poke the ball base for 2–0. The Reds continued to threaten, but were forced to defend well to prevent Roma from taking any goals with them to Old Trafford. The pit finished 2–0, putting United in a comfortable status going into the second leg on 9 April. United went into the moment leg with a pair of wound concerns in the concentrate of their defense. Nemanja Vidić was placid carrying an injury from the first leg, while Rio Ferdinand had a suspect foot injury that he picked up in the Reds ‘ match against Middlesbrough at the weekend. however, Ferdinand was deemed to be fit enough to start the match, and lined up aboard Gerard Piqué in the kernel of defense. Mikaël Silvestre besides found a place in the start batting order, making his first start for about seven months, following a knee ligament injury, and Gary Neville besides made a render to the first team squad, being selected on the bench. meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were left on the bench, as Alex Ferguson obviously had an eye on the adopt weekend ‘s pit against Arsenal. Manchester United started the match brilliantly, creating numerous opportunities in the foremost few minutes. however, on the half-hour, the referee Tom Henning Øvrebø awarded the visit side a penalty for a trip on Mancini by Wes Brown, which Daniele De Rossi stepped up to take. populate action replays however showed no contact between Brown and Mancini. The italian midfielder blazed the testis over the crossbar, wasting what would end up being Roma ‘s best casual of getting back into the tie. Roma started the second gear half powerfully, creating a couple of chances in the foremost 15 minutes of the second one-half, including a Rodrigo Taddei campaign that forced a last-ditch forget from Mikaël Silvestre. even, United weathered the early storm and, with 20 minutes of the match to go, put the tie beyond reasonable doubt through Carlos Tevez. The argentine powered past a pair of Roma defenders, before playing the testis to Owen Hargreaves on the correctly wing. Tevez continued his ply into the box, before finishing with a glancing header off Hargreaves ‘ inch-perfect hybrid. The day was made complete in the 81st moment, when Alex Ferguson brought Anderson off to be replaced by Gary Neville, who immediately took over the captainship, albeit in central midfield, rather than his prefer right-back slot. Neville ‘s every touch was greeted with cheers from the United fans, who had had to wait 13 months for their captain to take to the playing field again after a succession of injuries. Park Ji-sung had an campaign saved late on, but the meet was concluded soon after, and United could immediately look forward to their semi-final first leg off to Barcelona on 23 April. Barcelona were the only team other than United to remain unbeaten in the Champions League up to the semi-finals this season. The winnings over Roma was the 11th consecutive home victory in the Champions League for United, setting a new read for the competition. Both teams went into the semi-final first base leg with identical records in this season ‘s Champions League, each having won eight games and drawn two, while scoring 18 goals and conceding five. United were awarded a penalty three minutes into the game, after Gabriel Milito handled Cristiano Ronaldo ‘s heading from a corner. Ronaldo himself stepped astir to take the kick, but, despite sending Víctor Valdés the wrong way, smacked his shoot against the post. The miss penalty seemed to give Barcelona the extra drift they needed, and they began to take control of the game. Just before the half-hour, Ronaldo made a break into the Barça punishment area, only to be bodychecked by Rafael Márquez, who made no attack to get to the ball. rightfully expecting another penalty to be awarded, the look of alarm on Ronaldo ‘s confront was absolve when he saw referee Massimo Busacca wave play on. Márquez fouled Ronaldo again barely before one-half time, this time about 25 yards from goal. Márquez was shown a yellow card for his trouble oneself, which meant he was ineligible for the second branch on 29 April, but Ronaldo saw his resulting free kick go just a yard wide of the far post. A number of saves from Van five hundred Sar and a Michael Carrick block kept Barcelona at bay, while Carrick himself came close to scoring at the early goal, rippling the side-netting after making space for himself on the left side of the penalty area. The meet finished as a scoreless draw, with Barcelona having had the better of the possession, but with the moment leg being played at Old Trafford, United had every reason to be confident. During the second peg, Old Trafford hosted a very affectional night in which the home herd vociferously supported United as they worked to achieve a place in the final examination. Following a precarious begin ( including Paul Scholes fouling Lionel Messi on the identical edge of the penalty area within the inaugural 45 seconds ), United took the lead courtesy of an outstanding finish by Paul Scholes in the 14th hour. Despite surrendering huge swathes of possession to Barcelona, United about extended their lead shortly before one-half clock time, Nani heading wide from a dependable thwart from Park Ji-sung. The moment one-half of the match saw a challenging Barcelona that merely failed to get a vital away finish, largely thanks to a very good defensive work by the Red Devils, the game ending 1–0. The win increased the phone number of consecutive home wins in the Champions League to a record 12, the previous record having stood at 10, and qualified United for their one-third european Cup final. With Chelsea beating Liverpool in the early semi-final, it set up the European Cup ‘s first ever all-English final, to be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 21 May 2008. United had the run of the shimmer in the first half of the final examination, dominating Chelsea in terms of possession, and took the contribute in the 26th infinitesimal through a Cristiano Ronaldo header off a Wes Brown crisscross. however, in the last infinitesimal of the first half, a ball into the United box was deflected to Frank Lampard, who capitalised on a case by Van five hundred Sar to equalise for the Londoners. The second base half was much more even, but no farther goals were scored and the couple went to extra time. Midway through the second half of extra time, a large incident involving Carlos Tevez and John Terry kicked off. In the ensuing melée, the referee spotted a smack on Nemanja Vidić by Didier Drogba, and had no reluctance in sending the Ivorian international off. Despite the man advantage, United were unable to find a winner and the pit went to penalties. Both teams converted their first two penalties, but then the most improbable of players missed his – Cristiano Ronaldo, who stepped up with his usual assurance, could lone stare on as Petr Čech saved his injection. just when the match looked lost, John Terry stepped up for the Blues, merely for his standing foot to give way as he struck his shoot and the ball hit the post. This took the match to sudden death penalties, though lone two far rounds were required. Ryan Giggs scored United ‘s seventh penalty, meaning that Nicolas Anelka had to score in order to keep Chelsea in the game. His fritter, however, was ailing struck, and at the arrant acme for United ‘s Dutch goalkeeper to save, granting United their third european Cup title .
Date
Round
Opponents
H / A
Result
F–A
Scorers
Attendance
20 February 2008
First knockout round
First leg
Lyon
A
1–1
Tevez 87′
39,219
4 March 2008
First knockout round
Second leg
Lyon
H
1–0
Ronaldo 41′
75,520
1 April 2008
Quarter-finals
First leg
Roma
A
2–0
Ronaldo 39′, Rooney 66′
60,931
9 April 2008
Quarter-finals
Second leg
Roma
H
1–0
Tevez 70′
74,423
23 April 2008
Semi-finals
First leg
Barcelona
A
0–0
95,949
29 April 2008
Semi-finals
Second leg
Barcelona
H
1–0
Scholes 14′
75,061
21 May 2008
Final
Chelsea
N
1–1
(6–5p)
Ronaldo 25′
67,310
Squad statistics [edit ]
Transfers [edit ]
United ‘s beginning deviation of the 2007–08 season was Kieran Richardson, who signed for Sunderland on 16 July for an undisclosed fee. Fifteen days late, Giuseppe Rossi besides left the club, signing for Villarreal. On 3 August, Alan Smith departed for Newcastle United, and about three weeks late, Gabriel Heinze left for Real Madrid. Five days later, club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær retired at the long time of 34. Coming in during the summer transfer windowpane were Owen Hargreaves, who left Bayern Munich on 1 July. The watch day, Anderson and Nani signed for a blend £30 million. On the lapp sidereal day that Anderson and Nani arrived, polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak came in from West Bromwich Albion, having already spent the previous temper with Manchester United on loan. During the winter transfer window, Adam Eckersley, Ryan Shawcross, and Phil Bardsley departed, while in May, Kieran Lee and Gerard Piqué left the clubhouse. United ‘s winter arrivals were Angolan ahead Manucho and brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Possebon. italian child Davide Petrucci arrived in June from Roma .
In [edit ]
Out [edit ]
loanword in [edit ]
Date from
Date to
Position
Name
From
10 August 2007
31 July 2009
FW
Carlos Tevez
MSI[38]
loanword out [edit ]
References [edit ]
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