Barcelona were in Group D with Panathinaikos, Rubin and Copenhagen, and they started their Champions League campaign as they meant to go on.

They beat Panathinaikos 5 -1 in their first match of the groups stages, with an opening goal from Messi who went on to score in almost every other match. In the second round of the groups They faced a bit of opposition from Rubin and were held to a one-all draw, thanks to a goal from David Villa.  

They regained their stride against Copenhagen in the next stage of the competition, beating them by two goals, both scored by Messi. Their second match against Copenhagen in the group stages saw them held to a one-all draw, with Messi once again scoring the crucial goal.

They were back on form, however, with their next round in the group stages beating Panathinaikos 3 - 0 with two great goals from Pedro and one from Messi. Their final matches in Group D saw them top the leader board and with a 2 - 0 win over Rubin they finished the group in first place with 14 points.

Barcelona went head-to-head with Arsenal in the knockout stage. Their first match against the English team did not go fully to plan and saw Arsenal pull ahead with a 2 -1 win over the Spanish side. However, in the return leg Barcelona, with help again from Messi, were able to beat the Gunners 3 - 1 giving them an aggregate score of 4 - 3 and seeing them into the quarter finals.

In the quarter finals Barcelona were up against the Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. Shakhtar had finished in first place, above Arsenal, in the group stage but seemed to be no problem for Barca as they defeated them 5 - 1 in their first match. Shakhtar rallied somewhat in their second meeting but Barcelona still managed to get one goal in, putting them safely through to the semi’s.

In the semi-finals Barcelona faced off against old rivals Real Madrid, things got heated on and off the pitch but Barca were able to go two goals ahead in their first match. Although Real held them to a one-all draw in the return leg Barcelona were through and would face Manchester United in the final at Wembley.