Manchester United have beaten Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a pulsating 120 minutes of action in Moscow ended with the sides deadlocked at 1-1.

Cristiano Ronaldo - who had earlier scored in normal time - was the guilty party for United, seeing his penalty saved, before John Terry, with the tenth penalty of the shootout, missed the chance to win the match for Chelsea, the captain slipping and seeing his effort clip the outside of the post. With the score at 6-5 to United, Nicolas Anelka then had his kick saved by United's Dutch international goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar to seal a victory every bit as dramatic as their last-minute triumph over Bayern Munich in 1999.

The prolific Ronaldo gave Manchester United the lead with a powerful header after 26 minutes, only for Frank Lampard to score a somewhat fortuitous equaliser for Chelsea on the stroke of half-time, the England midfielder profiting when an ambitious Michael Essien shot was deflected into his path.

Probably not believing their luck at going in at the interval on level terms after having been outplayed for the most part, Chelsea were the dominant force against an evidently tiring United in the second half and Didier Drogba struck a post with 12 minutes remaining.

Lampard then hit the underside of the bar in an equally thrilling first period of extra time, while John Terry headed away a goalbound effort from Ryan Giggs, a second-half substitute, with the Chelsea goalkeeper this time beaten. It was pulsating, thrilling, end-to-end action in a final that started slowly but grew in intensity and by the end was being played in an atmosphere of almost unbearable tension.

Ultimately, that pressure reached boiling point and beyond as Drogba was shown the red card for slapping Nemanja Vidic in the face in the midst of a mass alternation featuring at least half a dozen players from both sides.

With so much at stake, both sides were anxious not to throw many players forward in the early stages and there was not a shot to speak of in the first quarter of an hour, before Ronaldo, who else, brought the crowd in the Luzhniki Stadium to their feet with a piece of brilliance down the left wing.

Like a conjuror, Ronaldo showed the ball to Michael Essien before making it disappear before the Ghanaian’s very eyes, jinking his way past the makeshift right back in a flash before delivering a cross which bypassed Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper, but was too high for Owen Hargreaves.

Tempers flared midway through the half as Claude Makelele chased a loose ball in midfield. The France international appeared favourite to win it, but Paul Scholes went in with a robust challenge which resulted in the pair clashing heads.

Manchester United’s former England midfielder was treated for a nasty-looking facial injury and the challenge resulted in a melee which saw Wayne Rooney push Ashley Cole. The two initial protagonists were both shown the yellow card by the Slovakian referee Lubos Michel.

Finally, Chelsea started to carry a threat. A cross from Lampard looked certain to pick out the unmarked Drogba before Vidic made a timely headed intervention. Lampard’s right-wing corner then brushed the top of Terry’s head with United defenders floundering.

Scholes came back on to the pitch after his continued participation had appeared in some doubt, which would have been heartbreaking for a player who had missed the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich through suspension. Immediately after his return, the ginger-haired midfielder had a hand in creating the opening goal. A quick throw-in and interchange of passes gave Wes Brown some space to cross and his centre was perfect for Ronaldo, who escaped the attentions of the snoozing Essien to bullet a header past the statuesque and helpless Cech for his 42nd goal of an incredible season.