Manchester United are back in the UK after their thrilling win over Chelsea in the Champions League final.
Their plane touched down in Manchester at 2130 BST, with the players carrying both the Champions League and Premier League trophies down the steps.
The United squad celebrated their win well into the morning at their hotel in Moscow, delaying their departure.
The United players are unlikely to be able to show off their Champions League and Premier League trophies in an open-top bus parade through the streets of Manchester.
Tension has started to mount as Manchester United and Chelsea prepare to lock horns for the Champions league final. Both the teams have been warned that the Luzhniki Stadium pitch is dangerous and not fit to host the final of the Champions League.
Groundsmen are working around the clock to improve the playing surface. The pitch has several bare patches and is very bumpy. Blocks of frozen grass shipped in from Slovakia have not bedded down as hoped and the state of the surface is giving real cause for concern.
But whatever be the condition of the pitch, the fans would definitely witness something extra ordinary as both the teams fight for the most coveted prize in European football.
Rio Ferdinand has signed a new contract at Manchester United which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2013. The central defender who arrived at The Theatre Of Dreams in 2002 has put the pen on the deal and shown his long term commitment towards the club.
Days after Chelsea stole United's targeted right back Jose Bosingwa for £16.2m, Rio's decision to stay at Old Trafford has made the fans happy. Sir Alex has openly appreciated Ferdinand's contribution at the back this season along with Vidic. Its because of such commited and determined players that Man Utd has retained their title and are challenging for european glory.
Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed the fear of never experiencing European success again drove him on to build his third great Manchester United side.
After the 1994 Double winners and unparalleled Treble campaign five years later, United are once again at the peak of their powers, with only domestic rivals Chelsea standing between them and another Champions League crown.
It seems hard to believe now but it is only two seasons ago that Ferguson's team were turfed out of Europe at the group stage, with many pundits openly starting to question how long the Scot would last in the Old Trafford hotseat.
While such an embarrassingly early exit was not part of the masterplan, it did prove to be part of the learning process that now leads to the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for the newly-crowned Barclays Premier League champions.
"You have fear of many things but sometimes that drives you on," said Ferguson.
"I felt it was an important time for us when we started to make another change and began to rebuild again. "It is not easy to manage change and when you see a team starting to break up due to age, injuries or merely because others are not maintaining the level they should be at. But today, United are the best team around at the moment. The team has some great youngsters in Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Evra, Nani, Anderson with some experienced players like Giggs and Scholes, which balances the side perfectly.
Another european success in Moscow would assure that United are the best team in the world!
Manchester United retained their title and were crowned the Champions of England for the 10th time after they defeated Wigan . It all started after United and their title challengers Chelsea locked on the same points started their respective matches. While United won 2-0, Chelsea could only manage a 1-1 draw against Bolton.
Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty and a late goal from Ryan Giggs gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Wigan at the JJB Stadium as they retained the Premier League title.
Ronaldo stepped up to take the 33rd-minute spot-kick and calmly side footed the ball past goalkeeper Chris Kirkland who dived the wrong way. Giggs, on as a substitute to equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for the club, added a second for United in the 80th minute to make his day even memorable.
After yesterdays win against Newcastle United, Chelsea are level on points with the leaders, due to inferior goal difference. Only 1 game remains for the season, and what a game it will be. United face Wigan while Chelsea face Bolton.
Avram Grant has said that United are under extreme pressure to defend their title. Also he has said that may be Chelsea can beat Bolton 18-0 and go on to clinch the title. All these are mind games that the Blues boss is trying to play. But he doesnt know that United players are very strong mentally and they are not going to fall to such silly tactics.
Also, Glazers have announced huge bonuses to the players should they lift the EPL as well as Champions league title. Man Utd will surely lift both the trophies.
But one thing is for sure, Chelsea have really pushed United till the last game of the season to decide who would be crowned the champions of England. Good work Chelsea, but you could reach only till here. Now its United's turn to show what they are made of and why they deserve both the titles.
Manchester United took a huge step towards retaining their Premier League title, beating West Ham United 4-1 despite playing more than half the match with 10 men, with Nani sent off after a scuffle with West Ham's Lucas Neil. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice at Old Trafford and Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick netted against their old club as Manchester United moved to 84 points with one match to play. This means that if the leaders win at Wigan Athletic on May 11 they will be champions of England for the 17th time.
Second-placed Chelsea, who visit Newcastle United on Monday, have 81 points but a vastly inferior goal difference.
Sir Alex Ferguson has shown interest in West Ham striker Dean Ashton, describing him as the new Teddy Sheringham. His main traits are that he is a strong & powerful forward who is good in the air and a constant threat. He might be bought in to ease the pressure from the current United forwards Rooney and Tevez, who have been over utilized this season since the retirement of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the injured Saha.
The United boss has also shown keen interest in F.C. Porto defender José Bosingwa da Silva. He might be the ideal replacement for the vacant right back position, since Gary Neville has been injured and Wes Brown, who has been occupying that spot since then has hinted at leaving the club. The Portuguese defender’s main traits are quickness and stamina.
It’s too early to say that these two would arrive at Old Trafford. But its worth noting that the transfer rumors have started doing the rounds, as the season inches to the finish line.
Stamford Bridge witnessed a classic encounter of two bitter rivals yesterday. The home team Chelsea defeated Liverpool 3-2 to win the semi final 4-3 on aggregate and advance to the UEFA champions league final for the first time.
The Blues boss; Avram Grant who took over from Jose Mourniho, was seen to be an unpopular manager. But with time, he has silenced his critics and he has done something which no other manager at Chelsea had ever done. Jose had failed to take Chelsea to the champions league final during his 3 year tenure at The Bridge.
Hey... am I talking too much for our rivals?
So, everyone thinks that Chelsea has done a remarkable job and are very much on the verge of winning the EPL title and the champions league. I am afraid to break your heart, but that's just not possible. Because Manchester United is still there and it would always be at their place which is at the top. So no matter how Mr. Grant has transformed his team, no matter the blues are in great form and have a great team chemistry going. But United is no newbie to such things and specially when Sir Alex is there, no one can beat ManU.
So eventually Old Trafford will see two major trophies added to their trophy cabinet this season.
Way to go United...
