THE
STORY OF
MAn UTDClockwise from
above Scholes
celebrates his
winner against
Barcelona; Ronaldo
and Rooney formed
a devastating
partnership; Roma
fans express their
displeasure;
Hargreaves curls
home a crucial free
kick against Arsenal;
Giggs clinches the
title with United’s
second goal at
Wigan; Fergie
parades his tenth
Premier League title;
Ronaldo clutches
the Champions
League trophy
following victory
over Chelsea;
Carlos Tevez and
Chelsea skipper
John Terry exchange
a few words during
the final in Moscowlofted a free kick over the wall and into the
bottom-left corner of the net for a crucial 2-1
triumph over visiting Arsenal. The win put
United six points ahead of Chelsea and nine
in front of Arsenal.
However, a draw against Blackburn Rovers
at Ewood Park made things tight going into
the final stretch. By the end of April, a victory
over Chelsea would have given the Red
Devils the edge and left them needing only a
single point to secure the Premier League
crown. However, Chelsea would not go down
without a fight. A 2-1 loss at Stamford Bridge
left the two teams level on points, however,
United’s superior goal difference meant that
wins in their last two matches would all but
guarantee them the title. Ronaldo netted a
pair while Tevez and Michael Carrick
contributed to a comfortable 4-1 win over
visiting West Ham United on 3 May, setting
the stage for the final act at Wigan on 11
May. Going into the game, United knew that
they simply had to equal or better the
Chelsea result at Bolton to take the Premier
League title.
Initially it seemed that Wigan hadn’t read
the script, the hosts repelling every United
attack and Paul Scholes receiving a booking
for a rash tackle. Moments later, a Wigannarrow angle to help United reach the
quarter-finals.
On 8 March, United were knocked out of
the FA Cup, losing 1-0 to Portsmouth in the
quarter-finals after Tomasz Kuszczak, who
had replaced the injured van der Sar at half-
time, was sent off. From the resulting
penalty, Sulley Muntari scored against
stand-in keeper Rio Ferdinand. Still, at the
end of the month they held a six-point lead
over Arsenal in the league following a 4-0
rout of Aston Villa on the 29th at Old
Trafford. Ronaldo back-heeled a ball through
an opponent’s legs only 16 minutes in, then
assisted Tevez, who headed home his
teammate’s cross. Rooney stepped up with a
brace, finishing a pair of assists from Ronaldo
and narrowly missing out on a hat-trick after
an offside call.
As Arsenal and Chelsea struggled to
remain in Premier League contention, the
Red Devils battled stubborn opposition and
injuries. Van der Sar’s timely block salvaged a
draw at Middlesbrough, while Ronaldo
scored a penalty and Owen Hargreavesseason, a rumble of discontent emerged
from the United faithful amid a
disappointing early run. Starting with draws
against Reading and Portsmouth and a
derby defeat at Manchester City, the team
lost Ronaldo to suspension for a headbutt in
the Portsmouth match and Rooney to a foot
injury against Reading. Finding themselves
17th in the table, United finally picked up
their first win of the season on 26 August
against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
A string of seven more victories followed.
While they conceded just four goals in their
first 11 matches, scoring was slow until
Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez finally clicked in
October, netting nine of 12 goals in a three-
match run. Although a ten-game unbeaten
run came to an end on 24 November at the
Reebok Stadium in a 1-0 loss to Bolton
Wanderers, five straight wins followed in
December before a 1-0 loss to West Ham in
the last league game of 2007.
In the Champions League, meanwhile,
United emerged from the group stage with
16 points from six games. The Red Devils
ensured their passage to the knockout stage
with a 4-0 win against Dynamo Kyiv at Old
Trafford in their fourth group match as Tevez,
Rooney, Ronaldo and Gerard Piqué scored. A
win against Sporting Lisbon in the next game
secured top spot and allowed Ferguson to
take a youthful squad to Italy for the final
game against Roma on 7 December, which
ended 1-1.
Tevez scored the only goal as the Reds
defeated Birmingham City in the first Premier
League match of the new year, and Ronaldo
got a hat-trick in a 6-0 rout of Newcastle.
Shaking off the frustrations of the early
season, Ronaldo gained momentum, putting
together a string of dazzling performances in
the early spring, maturing before the eyes of
the football world from an adept wideman
to perhaps the most complete player the
Premier League had ever witnessed.
On 21 December the draw for the first
knockout round of the Champions League
paired United with Lyon. The first leg in
France on 20 February 2008 ended in a 1-1
draw as Tevez netted in the 87th minute.
Two weeks later, the Red Devils won the
home leg 1-0, Ronaldo scoring from a
104 The Story of Man Utd FourFourTwo.com