Relieved Ronaldo spared his worst day

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo feared his penalty miss in Wednesday's Champions League final shootout would be the worst moment of his life before keeper Edwin van der Sar earned Manchester United a dramatic win over Chelsea.

"I don't know what to say, I thought we would lose when I missed," Ronaldo, who had his kick saved by Petr Cech, told ITV after United won 6-5 on penalties following a thrilling match that ended 1-1 after extra time.

"I thought it would be the worst day of my life, but the lads believed and we won it even despite my miss. I'm very proud of them. The penalties are a lottery. I think we deserved it because we played better in the whole game.

"Now it's the happiest day of my life," added the Portuguese winger, who scored the opening goal in the match, before saying he was going to stay at United.

United manager Alex Ferguson revealed it was the first major penalty shootout he had won.

"It's the first in a big game," said Ferguson, who adds a second Champions League crown to the 10th league title of his United reign he clinched last week.

"I think there was a sense of fate. We were fantastic in the first half and should have been three up. The second half they were the better team but we recovered in extra time."

TERRY SLIP

Chelsea skipper John Terry had the chance to win it for his team but he hit the post with his side's fifth penalty after appearing to slip in the wet conditions.