Man Utd reach Club World Cup final
Friday, 19 December 2008
Manchester United eased through to the Fifa Club World Cup final despite a spirited late effort from Gamba Osaka, reports BBC.
Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo easily converted first-half headers while Masato Yamazaki pulled a classy goal back for the plucky Japanese side.
Substitute Wayne Rooney bustled through to score with his first touch seconds later before Darren Fletcher nodded in.
Rooney added a fifth though a late flurry saw Yasuhito Endo convert a penalty and Hideo Hashimoto fire home.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side now face Ecuador's Liga de Quito in Sunday's final, while Osaka will meet Mexico's Pachuca in the match for third place.
Critics have questioned the credibility of a tournament where the gap in the teams' abilities may on paper appear vast, but a thrilling end to this match - with six goals in the last 16 minutes - will at least arm Fifa with some positive ammunition.
Beforehand, Ferguson insisted his Champions League holders are determined to become the first British side to win it and the evidence was there in a strong starting line-up, though Dimitar Berbatov was absent through illness and Rooney started on the bench.
Gamba Osaka: Fujigaya, Kaji, Nakazawa, Yamaguchi, Endo, Michihiro Yasuda, Myojin, Hashimoto, Bando, Lucas, Yamazaki.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Anderson, Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez.
Subs: Kuszczak, Rafael Da Silva, O'Shea, Evans, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Park, Welbeck, Rooney, Amos.
Referee: Benito Archundia Tellez (Mexico)
Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo easily converted first-half headers while Masato Yamazaki pulled a classy goal back for the plucky Japanese side.
Substitute Wayne Rooney bustled through to score with his first touch seconds later before Darren Fletcher nodded in.
Rooney added a fifth though a late flurry saw Yasuhito Endo convert a penalty and Hideo Hashimoto fire home.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side now face Ecuador's Liga de Quito in Sunday's final, while Osaka will meet Mexico's Pachuca in the match for third place.
Critics have questioned the credibility of a tournament where the gap in the teams' abilities may on paper appear vast, but a thrilling end to this match - with six goals in the last 16 minutes - will at least arm Fifa with some positive ammunition.
Beforehand, Ferguson insisted his Champions League holders are determined to become the first British side to win it and the evidence was there in a strong starting line-up, though Dimitar Berbatov was absent through illness and Rooney started on the bench.
Gamba Osaka: Fujigaya, Kaji, Nakazawa, Yamaguchi, Endo, Michihiro Yasuda, Myojin, Hashimoto, Bando, Lucas, Yamazaki.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Anderson, Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez.
Subs: Kuszczak, Rafael Da Silva, O'Shea, Evans, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Park, Welbeck, Rooney, Amos.
Referee: Benito Archundia Tellez (Mexico)