体坛英语新闻：Man. United beat Arsenal to reach Champions League final

LONDON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Manchester United reached the Champions League final for a second straight year after Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead Red Devils to a 3-1 win at Arsenal on Tuesday.

    Park Ji-sung put the defending champions ahead following a slip by defender Kieran Gibbs before Ronaldo hit a swerving free kick from 35 meters to make it 2-0 after only 11 minutes.

    Ronaldo then rounded off a 61st-minute counterattack that he started in his own half and, although Robin van Persie got a late goal back for Arsenal, United completed a 4-1 aggregate win in the two-legged semifinal.

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo (L 2) celebrates scoring with his team during their Champions League semi-final second leg soccer match at the Emirates stadium in London, Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The victory means United could now become the first team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 to earn the title of European champion for two straight years, although it will face Chelsea or Barcelona in the May 27 final in Rome.

    Chelsea, which lost last year's final on a penalty shootout, hosts the Spanish league leader in the second semifinal Wednesday. The teams are tied 0-0 from the first leg.

    The only bad news for United was that midfielder Darren Fletcher, who was an unused substitute last year, will be suspended for the final after he was sent off for conceding the late penalty that led to Arsenal's only goal.

    Fletcher brought down Cesc Fabregas in the area and Robin van Persie converted the resulting kick in the 76th.

    "We do not have the feeling that we played a semifinal in the Champions League because it was over after 10 minutes," Wenger said. "The most disappointing thing is that the game was over before it even started."

    Gibbs should have cut out Ronaldo's cross into the area but slipped on the grass to give Park the chance to run around him and lift the ball over goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

    Arsenal had not conceded a Champions League goal at Emirates Stadium since last year's quarterfinal exit to Liverpool, but Ronaldo then hit another with a fierce free kick that beat Almunia at his near post.

    Ronaldo back heeled the ball to Park inside his own half and the South Korea midfielder released Wayne Rooney on the left. Rooney sprinted to the Arsenal box before crossing to Ronaldo, who arrived on the edge of the area with a first-time shot high into net.