Into the final...

By Chris,
December 20 2008

United booked their place in the final of the Club World Cup with a 5-3 win over Gamba Osaka. Sir Alex Ferguson's European champions are now one win away from being officially crowned as the finest team on the face of the planet! United controlled Thursday’s semi-final for long periods – though a courageous late fightback from the Japanese side gave the scoreline an air of respectability.

One of the strongest arguments voiced against a world-club competition is that sides from other continents cannot compete with the European and South American sides.

That theory looked like coming true on Thursday as United cruised into a two-goal lead before half-time against the J-League side. Nemanja Vidic nodded United ahead just before the half-hour, with Cristiano Ronaldo also heading home on the stroke of half-time.

However, despite spending long periods on the backfoot, Osaka struck back on 74 minutes as the game burst into life in a frantic late spell. Masato Yamazaki fired home a superb finish from nearly 20-yards out.

United, however, restored their two-goal lead almost immediately as Wayne Rooney fired home before Darren Fletcher headed-in a Patrice Evra cross. It looked like a massacre was on the cards as Rooney completed a brace moments later as United made it 5-1 - but a Yasuhito Endo penalty and an injury-time strike from Hideo Hashimoto made the scoreline respectably for the Asian side.

United can now look forward to Sunday's final - and can expect a much tougher task against Ecuadorian outfit Liga de Quito. This competition may have failed to win over the masses in the UK, but United are one win from being officially crowned champions of the world!

Full Time - Gamba Osaka 3-5 Manchester United
Attendance - 67,618