Manchester United fans in Moscow

Man U fans celebrate triumph in Moscow final

It was Moscow’s biggest sporting event since 1980, with at least 40,000 English fans descending on the capital for the game.

Drama on the pitch

The crowd at the Luzhniki stadium saw a piece of world class football on a rainy Moscow night. Christiano Ronaldo put in a header after a great cross from Brown on 26 minutes to give Manchester United the lead. But Chelsea equalised minutes before the break. Lampard scored after Essien’s long range shot was deflected by MU’s captain Rio Ferdinand.  

The Londoners were closer to victory in the second half, as shots from Drogba and Lampard hit the post and the bar.

The game became really tense in overtime. Referee Lubos Michel had to show eight yellow cards to the players. In the second half of overtime Drogba was red carded for slapping MU’s Nemania Vidic in the face.
   
But Manchester team defended well in the last few minutes and managed to maintain the 1-all score till the final whistle. 

The match went to penalties. Chelsea took the lead after an effort from Christiano Ronaldo was saved by the Londoner’s goalie Peter Cech. John Terry needed to score to bring his team the trophy, but Chelsea’s captain could only hit the post. The shootout continued and MU’s keeper Van der Sar reached for a shot from Chelsea’s striker Anelka.

MU has won the Champions League title on penalties 6-5. While Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich, and his team has to wait another day to grab the most prestigious prize in European football.

Fans separated after the game

The Chelsea fans were the first to leave the Luzhniki arena. And only after that police allowed the jubilant Manchester United supporters to exit the stadium. 

The MU supporters are in a great mood, they are celebrating and behaving really well. No serious incidents were reported.

During the match a MU fans got to the pitch of the Luzhniki arena. He was taken by the police, but later released.

Most of the English fans are leaving Russia on Thursday night, as they go to the airport straight after the game.

Russian authorities have amassed an unprecedented force of about 14,500 policemen to ensure law and order.

A lot of thought has gone into how the fans will get to and from the match. The answer is almost a thousand buses were laid on by Moscow City Council.

“We're doing this for the convenience of the fans so they won't struggle to find their way around a foreign city without knowing the language. We want their trip to be as comfortable as possible,” Olga Terno, of Moscow City Transport, explained.

Once in the Luzhniki complex, team supporters were separately contained and entertained ahead of the game, closely guarded by policemen.

A section of the fans who arrived in Moscow a few days prior to the game have been accommodated at 70 hotels around the city, while some fans are staying in sports camps.

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