2008 UEFA Super Cup

2008 UEFA Super Cup
Match programme cover
Manchester United Zenit Saint Petersburg
England Russia
1 2
Date29 August 2008
VenueStade Louis II, Monaco
Man of the MatchDanny (Zenit Saint Petersburg)[1]
RefereeClaus Bo Larsen (Denmark)[2]
Attendance18,064[3]
WeatherSunny
25 °C (77 °F)
78% humidity[4]
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The 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit Saint Petersburg of Russia, the winners of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. The match was played on 29 August 2008 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.

Zenit won the match 2–1, Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring just before half-time, before Danny doubled the Russians' lead just before the hour mark. Nemanja Vidić reduced the deficit to one goal in the 73rd minute, but it was not enough to wrest the trophy from Zenit's grasp, as they became the first Russian team to win the competition. The sending-off of Paul Scholes for handball in the 90th minute resulted in him missing Manchester United's opening game in their defence of the Champions League, a home tie against Villarreal.[5]

This was Zenit's first appearance in the competition, while Manchester United had appeared twice before, in 1991 and 1999; their first appearance finished in a 1–0 win over Red Star Belgrade, while their most recent appearance was a 1–0 loss to Lazio, the last winners of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup to compete in the UEFA Super Cup.

  1. ^ Haslam, Andrew (29 August 2006). "Danny dazzles on debut to remember". UEFA. Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  2. ^ "Larsen to blow the Super Cup whistle". UEFA. 27 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Full Time Report" (PDF). UEFA. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  4. ^ "Line-ups" (PDF). UEFA. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  5. ^ Lyon, Sam (29 August 2008). "Man Utd 1-2 Zenit St Petersburg". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.