Barcelona Crowned Champions of Europe

Catalans defeat Man Utd in Champions League final.

Rome has long been associated with the epic gladiator battles of the past but last night there was a different kind of battle as Barcelona stormed into the Stadio Olimpico and brushed aside Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side to claim the Champions League crown.

In a decidedly one-sided affair Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona completely outclassed their Mancunian opposition, beating them 2-0. United started the game brighter, within the first eight minutes Cristiano Ronaldo, the talisman of this Manchester United team, had two attempts on goal. However, minutes later Barca forward Samuel Eto’o struck with a lethal-sucker punch.

The imperious Andres Iniesta ghosted past Anderson and slipped a ball through to Eto’o who then cut past Vidic and poked the ball past Edwin Van Der Sar at his near post.

Deflated by the early goal Manchester United looked shell-shocked, and Barcelona, now with the luxury of a one-goal advantage, were able to slip into the slick passing game that opponents find so difficult to cope with. Manchester didn’t completely crumble though and on the 15th minute Ronaldo won a well positioned free kick following former United player Gerard Pique’s block on the edge of the area. Unfortunately for the Manchester faithful Ryan Giggs sent the free kick over the bar.

Come the second half Ferguson felt changes needed to be made and he replaced the lacklustre Anderson with striker Carlos Tevez. This decision reaped virtually no reward though as Barcelona continued where they left off, passing the ball around the midfield and forcing Man Utd to chase the game. On the 48th minute Thierry Henry weaved through the United defence only to have his shot saved by van der Sar. Minutes later Xavi hit the post with a well placed free kick.

From here on it was all Barca and on the 70th minute Lionel Messi, the immensely talented Argentine, rose to meet a cross from Xavi and perfectly directed a header past van der Sar and into the United net. United were crestfallen, and the last 20 minutes showed none of the flair or spirit that has served United so well this season.

As the Catalan team collected their medals and trophy there was no doubt that Barcelona had simply been the much better team. United defender Nemanja Vidic told Sky Sports: “They had a good game and scored at the right time – then we chased the game and they had space to counter attack us, they deserved to win.” Sir Alex Ferguson added: “Credit to them, the better team won.”

Amongst the Barca team, former Arsenal star Thierry Henry spoke happily of the victory: “It’s unbelievable. I have no words to describe what we have done this year, what we have achieved.”