2008 FIFA Club World Cup final

Road to final

Both Manchester United and LDU Quito qualified for the competition at the semi-final stage, after winning their respective continental competition, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and the 2008 Copa Libertadores.

LDU Quito's opening game was against Mexican side Pachuca, who had defeated Egyptian club Al Ahly 4–2 in the quarter-finals after extra time. Their semi-final match was played at the National Stadium in Tokyo on 17 December 2008. The Ecuadorian side scored two goals in the first 26 minutes through Claudio Bieler and Luis Bolaños, securing their place in the Club World Cup final.

Manchester United's semi-final opponents were Gamba Osaka, who had previously defeated Australian A-League premiers and Asian Champions League runners-up Adelaide United (1–0) to move into the second semi-final on 18 December. Nemanja Vidić and Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the first half, building up a two-goal lead at half-time. Masato Yamazaki was the next to score in the 74th minute to bring Gamba back into contention, but Wayne Rooney scored twice and Darren Fletcher once within the next five minutes to extend United's lead. Yasuhito Endō converted an 85th-minute penalty kick and Hideo Hashimoto got a third for Gamba just minutes before the final whistle. The result was 5–3, taking Manchester United to the final.

Match

Details

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Statistics

References

References

1. (21 December 2008). "Liga de Quito 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport.
2. (13 December 2008). "Al-Ahly – Pachuca Match Report". [[FIFA]].
3. (17 December 2008). "Pachuca – Liga de Quito Match Report". [[FIFA]].
4. (17 December 2008). "In a Liga of their own". [[FIFA]].
5. (14 December 2008). "Adelaide United – Gamba Osaka Match Report". [[FIFA]].
6. (18 December 2008). "United hit five in thriller". [[FIFA]].
7. (18 December 2008). "Gamba Osaka – Manchester United Match Report". [[FIFA]].
8. "Match Report". Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
9. "Match Statistics". FIFA.