Champions League final: Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United
It's been a night of brilliant football from the two best teams in the world, and we'll give the last words to Sir Alex Ferguson, who sums things up nicely...
We started brightly; we could have been in front. They were a better team than us. It was two bad goals for us at this level - very shoddy. But we played against a good team and you've got to give them credit. They made it difficult for us.
It's been a long season. That was 66 games tonight. We've produced some great football through it. Next season we'll be better.
Rio Ferdinand...
Give credit to Barcelona. On a day like this you need to be able to play your best and we didn't .
But we still created five or six great oportunites. The first goal was a sucker punch. No excuses. I could have done better positionally for the Messi goal.
Email from Snowy...
Man Utd fan, gutted, but the better team won. Well done Barcelona. We didn't play as a team.
And from James...
Well i guess Man Utd can kiss goodbye to Ronaldo then!
Tears of joy for the Barcelona squad. Thierry Henry was magnanamous in victory...
Finally. I've been waiting for so long to get this title. Finally today. The last minutes were the longest of my life. We were playing the best team in the world.
Grim faces on the Manchester United players and Sir Alex Ferguson, their bubble truly burst. Which faces will be there next season for the next assault on Europe?
Full time Barcelona have completed a magnificent treble. In his first season in senior football management, Pepe Guardiola has won the Copa del Rey, La Liga and the Champions League. What an incredible achievement.
93 mins Substitution for Barcelona Rodriguez on for Iniesta.
91 mins Corner to Barcelona as the fans celebrate. The home side casually put together 20-odd passes to work their way into the box. The better team is certainly winning tonight.
87 mins Rooney takes a quick corner to Tevez, and his cross is dangerous. United win another corner but old lego head Berbatov gets a terrible head on it. This final is over. I bravely predict 2-0 to Barcelona.
83 mins Messi and Iniesta taking their time as Barca show how it's done. A beautiful move ends with Puyol one-on-one with Van der Sar but his the keeper blocks well and the Barca captain gets injured in the secondary challenge. A hint of time-wasting there.
80 mins Iniesta fires a cracking shot in at Van der Sar. Scholes yellow card. Scholes goes in hard on Busquets in a challenge that could have ended both of their nights. United need a goal to lift them out of this huff.
77 mins Ronaldo yellow card Pretty blatant shoulder barge off the ball from the petulant one.
74 mins Substitution for Man United Scholes on for Giggs
72 mins There's desperation in United's sweeping move in retaliation, and neither Giggs, Ronaldo or Berbatov can take their chance. Substitution for Barca Keita on for Henry
70 mins GOAL! Lionel Messi (5'7"!) hangs in the air to head a Xavi cross across Van der Sar and into the net. What a goal. Barca were pushing and just kept coming. They seem able to set up camp in the United last third and take their pick.
Graham emails...
If United lose this it's because there are too many anonymous players on the field. Too many people not showing up tonight.
67 mins Things are getting a little tasty. The boy Ronaldo gets penalised for a challenge but there's nothing in it. United look to have edged their way back into the game. Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov and Tevez. That's a lot of firepower. Let's see if they can use it.
66 mins Substitution for United Berbatov on for Park
64 mins Iniesta goes down like a sack of tatties against Ferdinand and United sweep upfield. Ronaldo can't quite do his thing and loses it. Berbatov is about to come on.
63 mins Rooney wins another corner but the ball is missed by everyone on its way through.
61 mins Ronaldo comes up against Toure but squares to Carrick who threads a ball through to Rooney, but the ball is quick on this surface and it's straight out.
60 mins United are warming up their subs with a view to change. They need to do something because at this rate the match is drifting towards a squeeky bum finish.
55 mins Mechanical play from United is getting them nowhere and the game is a bit stop stop stop.
52 mins Man U are living dangerously. Iniesta wins another free kick on the edge of the box and Pique scorches a shot round the wall and into the post. No man is an island, unless his name is Van der Sar.
50 mins Oooo. Was that a penalty? Messi seems to have been tugged by O'Shea, but the ref stays tough.
48mins Small, tight triangles from the home side. Long ineffective passes from the visitors. Iniesta to Xavi, on to Henry, Henry takes his time, turns Ferdinand inside out but passes it straight at Van der Sar.
46 mins Park gets a throw up the left straight away, but it comes to nothing.
Substitution for United. Tevez on for Anderson off. I wonder what Sralex has said to the team? Anderson's been hooked and Tevez is on, with Rooney now on the right wing.
Email from Emma...
I think that given a bit more time Ronaldo will break down the defence. They look slow in comparison. We're panicking now but the second half will be a different story.
John D reckons that United are in trouble...
How can United be getting shown up so badly? They look amateur in comparison to Barca tonight. 2-0.
FinLad on the text is impressed...
It's not been a bad game - for a final.
Half time - time for some thoughts from y'all
44 mins Messi, all 5'7" of him, sets off like a whippet down the left flank, getting all the way to the line before cutting back; the United defence don't look too worried. It's hairdryer time.
40 mins Park to Ronaldo, back to Park, Park falls over... Xavi boots the ball aimlessly up field... the best two teams in Europe... Giggs moves onto the left wing to leave Rooney and Ronaldo up front as United try to take control over the midfield.
35 mins United are failing to hold onto the ball, breaking up front with no support. Sir Alex Ferguson won't be too happy with this performance so far.
32 mins Barcelona are geting into their possession game, leaving Manchester with scant access to the ball. Even Puyol and Toure moving forward.
26 mins Iniesta gets the better of Anderson and from the free kick Xavi skims the crossbar. This turning into a shot bonanza.
21 mins Corner for Manchester United. Rooney is dominating down there and supplying Ronaldo with endless opportunites. Man U's front three have scored 97 goals between them in competition this season. This match is far from over.
20 mins Did David Pleat just call Rooney the best winger in the world? How many minutes until 1966 gets a mention?
16 mins Pique Yellow card The central defender body checks Ronaldo to earn the first booking of the match. Giggs takes the kick on the edge of the box but it's comfortably over.
14 mins The match swings to Barca as the midfield finally gets a chance to get into their rhythm.
11 mins GOAL! Eto'o skins Vidic as Barcelona break into the box for the first time before firing the ball low past Van der Sar.
9 mins United are getting the break of the ball as they pour forward and Ronaldo has yet another shot on goal, again not too far away
6 mins Manchester United are dominating the opening minutes, working the ball down the left wing. Puyol will have a busy night. Ronaldo picks up the ball near the half way line and has a crack. Sheer confidence.
3 mins It's a huge pitch and the ball is getting worked around. Rooney and Ronaldo linking on the left wing but the final ball into Park is long.
19.45 Kick off. Man U in all white playing left to right get a free kick almost immediately 32 metres out the left. His shotnearly beats Valdes and Park is foiled by Pique as he follows up.
19.44 It's a shame Darren Fletcher isn't there, but it's great to see Giggs captain this side after all this time. He dererves this.
19.34 Barcelona are odds on, just, at 19/10, while Manchester are on 13/8 to win. The draw is only slightly longer at 9/4. Quite a lot of pundits and fans have been saying it will be a tight match as these two creative footballing sides cancel each other out.
19.28 The Stadio looks amazing. The famous burgandies and blues of Barcelona are flying high off the roof of the stadium as helicopters circle, taking it all in. There will be 67,000 fans in here tonight, assumning they all managed to get in. There were reported problems with the chipped tickets refusing entry to some fans. Can you imagine? It doesn't bear thinking about.
19.19 Looking ahead to the two players who are touted as the creme de la creme tonight... Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Messi is just 21. Unbelievable. He's the top scorer in the tournament so far with eight goals and he's on amazing form. 37 goals in 50 games.
Then there's Ronaldo. Arrogant, brilliant, sublime. The man is superlative. His threat cannot be overstated. I can't wait to see which of them steps up to take centre stage tonight.
Who better to give an opinion than Henrick Larssen, the all-round footballing hero who has seen duty with both clubs. unfortunately, he refused to be drawn on who’s the better.
I think it’s very difficult to compare. They’re quite similar players in the way they like to have the ball at their feet, and run at defenders.
I think it’s very difficult to say who’s the best. They’re both very good, so I’ll have to sit on the fence there and say I don’t know.
Mmm. Thanks Henrick. Very insightful.
18.58 Pepe Guardiola’s Barcelona are chasing history as well tonight, after winning both La Liga (spectacularly thumping Real Madrid 6-2 in the process) and the Copa del Rey this season. What are their chances?
18.55 Our live online video stream is about to start over on stv.tv/live. Check it out.
18.49 The Barcelona team (4-3-3)... Valdes, Puyol, Toure, Pique, Sylvinho Midfield: Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta. Attack: Messi, Eto'o, Henry
18.46 The United team (4-3-3)... Defence: Van Der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra. Midfield: Anderson, Carrick, Giggs (capt.). Attack: Park, Ronaldo, Rooney
18.30 So what's at stake tonight? Plenty. Holders Man United can become the first team ever to successfully defend the Champions League trophy, on their way to an historic four trophies in one season. So far they’ve clinched the Carling Cup, the Club World Cup and the Premier League. I know the Club World Cup doesn't really count, but four trophies sounds a lot better. Either way, it's not too shabby.
18.15 There's been a total ban on alcohol in the city in the run up to this match, which should hopefully make for a more enjoyable atmosphere. There was a bit of trouble last night, including two stabbings. Let's hope there's no more of that.
It's been a muggy, tension-building in Rome, as an estimated 50,000 fans make their way into the Eternal City for what we hope will be a festival of pure football. That's pure as in "free of impurities" rather than the Glaswegian version which means the same as "really". Eg. "That's pure dead brilliant!" which means, "that's really quite smashing," I think.
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