Barcelona simply manhandled Man U in Rome earlier today to take the UEFA Champions League Final with a 2-0 victory, thus denying coach Ferguson’s squad to become the first team to successfully defend its title since the competition changed its name and format from the European Cup and become only the third team ever to repeat as League and European Champions (Real Madrid and Ajax are the others).
Cristiano Ronaldo had some good opportunities right at the start and Man U might have turned the tide early if Park Ji-sung had been able to net the rebound after Victor Valdes had failed to secure a fierce Ronaldo free-kick.
Instead Andres Iniesta slipped a pass to Eto’o and the Cameroon striker cut inside Nemanja Vidic held off Michael Carrick as he finessed the ball through with enough strength to get it past Edwin van der Sar just ten minutes into the match and they never really looked back after that.
Though former Arsenal star Thierry Henry was fairly quiet, his teammate from Argentina, Lionel Messi, put the game away for Barcelona with a second half header.
Lionel Messi
With the media attention on World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo and last year’s runner up, Messi, the star of this game was Andres Iniesta as he turned in a dominant performance in midfield and showed everyone why he may be the most unsung player on this team. Despite not being 100% fit, he pulled the strings on offense and contributed to the overall poor passing and sloppy play of Man U.
Barcelona completes a brilliant season that includes winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. This was Barcelona’s third victory in the competition, 17 years after they first won the European Cup in 1992.
| Pitch Report from Stadio Olimpico Rome, Italy Attendance: 72,700 |
| Barcelona Manchester United |
| Shots (on Goal) 12(7) 11(2) |
| Goals: Samuel Eto’o (10) |
| Lionel Messi (70) |
| Fouls 7 10 |
| Corner Kicks 4 7 |
| Offsides 1 5 |
| Time of Possession 53% 47% |
| Saves 2 5 |
| Yellow Cards 1 3 |
| Gerard Pique(16) Cristiano Ronaldo(78) |
| Paul Scholes (80) |
| Nemanja Vidic (90) |
| Red Cards 0 0 |
Man U got their hats handed to them. Cristian Ronaldo did not look like the Player of the Year here
what a game in midfield by Andres Iniesta. Barcelona was clearly the better team
Man U was a no show.
It was as if Man U didnt even show up. flat city.
Controlling ball possession, tough defense, fluid passing – Barcelona’s artistry was on display the whole game.
Messi demonstrated here he is the best in the world now.