The reality is Wayne Rooney had laid the ball out on a plate for him with a great cross and the United skipper on the day should have buried it. Instead he slid into Petr Cech and although the cameras showed afterwards that the ball crossed the line, it did so with Giggs momentum into the goalkeeper which could be construed as a foul.

Rooney seemed United's best bet to score as our friend Cristiano Ronaldo was again AWOL on the big day. He had the beating of Paulo Ferreira every time, but whether it was his big game temperament or a lack of guile, he just flopped.

Michael Carrick too was a big disappointment to me, always playing the safe ball whereas Frank Lampard tried to do positive things and for that got his reward.

Mind you, I wanted Alex Ferguson to triumph over Jose Mourinho, who will take succour from his double victory this season . . . although they were the two trophies which would be at the bottom of his list. Still, they might keep him in his job although there is a lot of talk that Roman Abramovich wants a new beginning. For me he has been too quiet on this subject to be wholesome so I remain to be convinced.

I suppose the new Wembley deserved a showpiece full of flair and adventure, but when United set out their stall with an aura of fear, there was never any chance that Chelsea would be the ones to press on from the word go. Defences ruled, midfield by and large cancelled each other out and the forwards chased without any great conviction. In the end Rooney's moment of magic was squandered by Giggs and Lampards was converted by Drogba. Such is how cups are won and lost.

Looking ahead to next Wednesday's Champions League final, the first thing we have to accept is that it won't be anything like the 2005 final between the same two teams. That was an unbelievable game of football, possibly the most amazing I've ever watched. But lightning doesn't strike twice.

Indeed, not only will it not be a repeat of two years ago, it's unlikely to be a repeat of the second leg of the AC Milan/Manchester United semi-final in the San Siro.

Ferguson's insistence on playing it his way . . . the Manchester United way . . .

played into Milan's hands. As Carlo Ancelotti stated afterwards, Liverpool won't be anything like as gung-ho. By keeping things tight in Athens, they'll make life much harder for Milan than Manchester United did.

It's going to be very interesting to see how Rafael Benitez approaches the game. He's one of those managers who quite often sets his team out with the opposition in mind. Unlike Ferguson, Benitez doesn't adopt a "we'll play our own game regardless" mentality, particularly in Europe.

This is partly why Liverpool's Champions League record has been so good under him.

He consistently sends out teams that are solid, highly competitive and difficult to beat.

Not that that was the case in the first half of the 2005 final.

Liverpool were in an almost embarrassing situation at halftime, 3-0 down after being totally outplayed. AC Milan seemed poised to go on to win by the sort of scoreline you simply don't see in a Champions League final. But Benitez made the changes that had to be made.

Kaka offers the most obvious threat to Liverpool. He's an absolutely wonderful player, blessed with speed, composure, a great shot. How Benitez sets about coping with him will be the evening's defining question.

Because of the way Kaka plays . . . neither as a striker nor a midfielder . . . he's difficult to close down for opponents who use a 44-2. Do you ask one of the centre-backs to come out? Do you ask one of the full-backs to abandon his normal role ?

Do you ask one of the midfielders to drop back?

The doubts over Zenden provide Benitez with a potential solution. He can designate Mascherano, a good tackler, to look after Kaka and opt for Gerrard and Alonso further forward, with Pennant on the right. That way, Liverpool will retain their shape yet also maintain an attacking attitude.

I'm not totally sure about either goalkeeper . . . Dida, though agile and a good shot-stopper, is iffy with his positioning and tends to make mistakes on crosses . . .

but elsewhere there are terrific players all over the field. Liverpool have Carragher, who's had a fine season and has really helped Agger settle in, and Gerrard.

Milan have Nesta and Gattuso, a guy anyone would love to have on their team.

Alonso on his day will happily dictate the flow of the game and the same goes for Pirlo. Seedorf is a great technician, especially when he gets into the box, as he demonstrated against Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Kaka's magic to decide it and Milan to gain revenge for Istanbul.