The greatest season this side of the 21st century for Manchester United concluded with a rainy Champions League penalty shootout victory over Chelsea in Moscow. It followed a nail-biting league finish where Chelsea ran them very close, with a 2-0 win away at Wigan Athletic needed to snatch a 17th league crown. However, it all started with meagre results, as a home stalemate with Reading and a broken foot for Wayne Rooney meant early misery. They were held by Portsmouth at Fratton Park three days later as Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off. Of course, the Portuguese forward would shatter all records laid out in front of him at Old Trafford that year in a 42-goal haul season, but he had to sit out three league matches before he could open his account at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League in September. The suspension meant he missed the derby clash with City in which a thunderous strike from Geovanni ensured United crumbled to another disappointing result and had just two points from three games. As August transitioned into September and October, United fed on scraps as key players such as Ronaldo and Rooney missed vital games. Four successive 1-0 victories in the league and in Europe against Tottenham, Sunderland, Everton and Sporting Lisbon was hardly the United way. Carlos Tevez was thrown into the deep end in his first season for Sir Alex Fergusons club and was made to wait for his first goal for the Reds in an all-important 2-0 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford in September. Adding to those four successive victories, United added a further four in a rampaging run which saw Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney all score braces in free-scoring wins over Middlesbrough, Wigan and Aston Villa. The ever potent attack terrorised Newcastle, putting eleven past them in two games as well as getting vital points on the road at the Emirates and Anfield. Although United suffered a league double at the hands of their city rivals, they inflicted an emphatic double over Liverpool, thrashing their fiercest rivals 3-0 at Old Trafford in March. By which time, United were unluckily thrown out of the FA Cup at the Quarter Final stage by Portsmouth but were flying full steam ahead to a Champions League quarter final in Rome. They dispatched Roma in a 3-0 aggregate win before scraping past Barcelona at the semi-final stage, thanks to a wonderful Paul Scholes finish in the return leg at Old Trafford. Ferguson clinched his second Champions League final but was made to sweat over a 17th league crown as United dropped points at Ewood Park, the Riverside Stadium and, more importantly, Stamford Bridge, thanks to a late Michael Ballack penalty in a 2-1 defeat. Wins over West Ham and Wigan solidified Fergusons 10th league title in 22 years at Old Trafford. He would eclipse Sir Matt Busbys European Cup record, lifting his second in Moscow ten days after his domestic triumph.
I am an aspiring journalist with a degree in Media Studies and a passion for all things sport -- especially football and Manchester United. I am a former season ticket holder at Old Trafford and have been a Red Devil since 1998.
