[versa]

Telegraph


Europe awoke today with a new incumbent sat on the glittering Champions League throne.

'MANCHESTER UNITED KINGS OF EUROPE' proclaimed La Gazzetta dello Sport, saluting United for their voracious hunger in picking up a second trophy in ten days.

Once again, Chelsea were the team pipped in a "photofinish" and the general feeling across the continent is that they were the better team on the night.

"To lose a Champions League final on penalties is cruel," says Il Corriere della Sera, "to lose it when you already had it in the bag even more so. To lose it like Chelsea did is pure torture."

La Gazzetta feels that Edwin van der Sar's save from Nicolas Anelka's spot-kick "unfairly punished Chelsea", singling out Frank Lampard and Petr Cech for their brave performances.

The pink paper's sympathy only stretches so far, however, illustrated by the cruel pun on the Chelsea captain's 'TERRYBLE' penalty.

Il Corriere has no doubt that Lady Luck was kind to United in Moscow, concluding that: "There are those who combine beauty and brilliance with luck- Cristiano Ronaldo and his Manchester United team fall into that category. Avram Grant and his Chelsea side do not."

La Repubblica praises an enthralling game in which "European club football showed its strengths- class, physical force, tactical strategy, balance and the economic power of two of its richest clubs."

For the Spanish paper Marca, United enjoyed a "dose of fortune" to beat a side that were "arguably better than their rivals".

For United, the trophy, for Chelsea there is just the "bitter taste of defeat in Moscow."

However, talk inevitably turns to what Il Corriere calls the "hunt for the stars of Moscow", speculating on the futures of Drogba, Lampard and Ronaldo.

Marca carries an enigmatic quote from Ronaldo, saying that "Next week I will make my decision about my future public- and it will be good for both me and the club."

Meanwhile, A Bola, the Portuguese paper, gives the man from Madeira man of the match status for his goal.

In Germany, Bild focuses on the cruel fate of the captain of their national team Michael Ballack, remembering that he was also a losing finalist back in 2002 for Bayer Levrkusen against Real Madrid.

No such misfortune for Patrice Evra, who was on the losing side for Monaco against Porto in 2004.

In an interview with L'Equipe the United defender says that "God gave us a hand" and dedicates the victory to Prince Albert of Monaco.

The Frenchman also reveals that Sir Alex told his team before the game that if "they won in Moscow they would be the best side that he had managed in the last 20 years of his career".