The FA Cup

Yesterday, there was this great match between Manchester United and Chelsea, for the finals of the FA Cup. I had a pre-match prediction that the 90 min will end in a draw and they'll have to play extra time. And it turns out to be true !!!

The 90 min ended with none getting the better of the other. But that didn't mean the match wasn't interesting. Players from both sides opened up well, and created quality chances to convert. Both Goalkeepers were awesome and played their part well. Chelsea were almost sleeping at times, with only Drogba and Lampard making some movement, but suddenly Robben came in the second half and started showing his might. There was no one who could possibly stop him. He was like some thin mouse escaping every trap. But then, ManU's defense was upto the mark. Though Neville wasn't there, Hienze did well and also Vidic. For ManU, Scholes was the link between the defense and midfield and was giving inch perfect crosses to Rooney and Ronaldo but they ended up off-side atleast 6 times. Both teams constantly created dangerous chances but no one scored. Finally they had to settle with the 0-0 and go on for extra time.

For me, this was the painful part of the game. Both teams played with more vigour and more quality. After all, they are the top 2 teams, not just in England, they reached the semis of the Champions League as well. The chances kept coming. There was an instance where Giggs actually touched the ball towards the keeper and though the keeper saved it, the momentum of giggs forced him and the keeper into the goal. Infact, TV replays showed the ball clearly inside the goal. But it wasn't declared a goal. Even i felt, it was a right decision coz, the keeper was literally pushed in and he didn't go in by mistake or anything. That spoiled the chance of a 1-0 win to ManU... and then came the final one incident. There was some high quality passing between Drogba and Lampard (again!!) and this time, the defense was sleeping (especially, Rio Ferdinand - the costliest defender and considered among the best). Drogba gave a mini pass to Lampard and he flicked it back to Drogba at just the right distance and height and Drogba made no mistake on finishing that. That was just a few minutes before the 120 min whistle and it settled the game.

Chelsea wins and ManU loses. What was considered a good season for ManU ended with only one trophy and that was the EPL. Infact, at a point i was thinking they might repeat the treble by taking the FA, EPL and Champions League coz they had the players and the chance also....

Better luck next time ManU...