Barcelona Beat Man Utd 2011 Champions League Final

Champions League: 2010-2011 Final

It's official: Man Utd were no match, Barca are the best

Ozren Podnar

Manchester United longed for a revenge for the defeat to the same rival suffered just two years ago at the Stadio Olimpico, but instead Barcelona asserted their domination in world soccer. The Red Devils ran, pressed and tackled, managing to neutralize Barca's evasive passing game for the better part of the first half.

Wayne Rooney lived up to his reputation and even managed to bring United level on 34 minutes (with a hint of offside), not long after the explosive Pedrito put Barcelona ahead. When United could no longer sustain the superhuman amount of physical effort, the Catalans' skill and passing combinations prevailed.

It was all blue-and-claret in the second half, as Pep Guardiola's men weaved an intricate web around Ferdinand, Vidic and Van der Sar. Ten minutes into the second half Messi saw an opening and sent a swerving left footer away from the Dutchman's fingers. A quarter of an hour later, Villa culminated a marvellous play from his teammates with a masterstroke into the top right corner. In the end it was Eric Abidal's turn to lift the trophy as skipper, just ten weeks after major surgery to remove a tumour from his liver.

Sir Alex Ferguson threatened in vain to dismantle the Spaniards with the wide array of tactical options that his roster is capable of adopting.

"I have four or five line-ups Barcelona could not cope with," said the Scotsman in the build-up to the game.

As it turned out, the one he picked in the replay of that final in Rome did not work. And it is unlikely that any would have. For Guardiola's team is unique in that it contains eight members of last year's World Cup winning team plus several Euro 2008 winners; United has none. And, yes, Barcelona boasts a certain Lionel Messi, the planet's top ball player.

United may be the most valuable soccer club in the world at 1.86 billion dollars (according to Forbes magazine), but on the field they had to settle for second best. Which is quite a feat, seeing that behind them are the likes of Real Madrid, Internazionale, Milan, Chelsea, Arsenal and Bayern.

The silverware, for the time being, belongs to Barca. Ten major trophies in three seasons is, in the simplest terms, the summary of FC Barcelona's achievements since Guardiola took over in the summer of 2008. No European team - or coach - has ever won so much in such a short spell. If anyone stands a chance of emulating this golden run, then United are the ones.

Champions League final

Barcelona 3 - 1 Manchester United

May 28th 2011. Wembley Stadium. Attendance 87,695.

Barcelona: Valdes; Alves (Puyol, min. 88), Pique, Mascherano, Abidal; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Villa (Keita, min. 85), Messi, Pedro (Afellay, min. 90).

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Fabio (Nani, min. 68), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Valencia (min. 79), Carrick (Scholes, min. 76), Giggs, Park; Rooney, Hernandez

Goals: 1-0 Pedro (27); 1-1 Rooney (34); 2-1 Messi (54); 3-1 Villa (69)

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Champions League Road To The Final

Round of 16

Arsenal vs Barcelona 2-1 1-3
Roma vs Shahtar Donetsk 2-3 0-3
Milan vs Tottenham 0-1 0-0
Lyon vs Real Madrid 1-1 0-3
Inter Milan vs Bayern 0-1 3-2
Valencia vs Schalke 04 1-1 1-3
Kobenhavn vs Chelsea 0-2 0-0
Marseille vs Manchester Utd. 0-0 1-2

Quarter-finals

Barcelona vs Shahtar Donetsk 5-1, 1-0
Real Madrid vs Tottenham 4-0, 1-0
Inter Milan vs Schalke 2-5, 1-2
Chelsea vs Manchester Utd. 0-1, 1-2

Semi-finals

Real vs Barcelona 0-2, 1-1
Schalke vs Man Utd 0-2, 1-4

* Note on spelling - Shahtar is so spelt rather than Shakhtar.

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