Chelsea, which has become a European power under high-spending Russian owner Roman Abramovich, finished with 10 men after Didier Drogba was ejected in the 116th minute for petulantly tapping Nemanja Vidic in the face with his hand.

Only the pre-game opening ceremony made it look like Moscow. After that it could have been Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge or Wembley as players so familiar with each other were roared on by English fans.

The first 25 minutes, however, were a poor advertisement for the Premier League as Chelsea stifled United's efforts to create moves and the action got stuck in the midfield.

Ronaldo, poorly marked by Michael Essien, Ronaldo headed in a cross from Wes Brown, who had neatly swapped passes with Paul Scholes on the right wing. Ronaldo scored a Champions League-leading eight goals in 11 matches, and his season total was third in United history behind Denis Law (46 in 1963-64) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (44 in 2002-3).

Chelsea equalized when Essien's shot hit defenders Vidic and Ferdinand, and the ball dropped to the unmarked Lampard, who scored from 12 yards.

Lampard hit the crossbar in the fourth minute of injury time with a left-footed shot from 15 yards. Giggs, who broke Bobby Charlton's record for United appearances, nearly broke the tie in the 100th but Terry deflected the shot with his head.