Not a treble, but an incredible season nonetheless! And what a way to end it off: A 3-1 win over Manchester United in the Champions League Final! It was a match truly fit for a UEFA finale.
Tonight, football fans from all corners of the globe faced towards Wembley, the Mecca of the beautiful game. Barcelona vs Manchester United was the dream final, however only one team’s dreams could come true. Both sides tasted domestic league success this season which would be no mean consolation prize, however, a defeat for either team would prove a bitter pill to swallow having come so close to glory. Barcelona arrived as slight favourites having endured arguably the rockier road to London. While the Catalans survived stern challenges from Arsenal and Real Madrid en route to Wembley, United made short work of Chelsea and cruised to the final having humiliated German outfit Schalke in the semis. It seemed the smart money on this fixture would remain in the wallet!
Barcelona were rocked by the eleventh hour absence of Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano was offered the opportunity to attempt to shore up the massive gap left by their talismanic captain. In the opening minutes Manchester were clearly on top as Barcelona failed to find their rhythm. Chicharito found himself through on goal twice in the opening ten minutes, however he was unable to beat the offside trap. The Catalans seemed vulnerable at the back, and numerous mix ups and route one efforts from the Mancs meant Valdes had to be at his most alert to rush off his line on a few occasions to keep his side in the game.
Messi was played through by Iniesta on 22 minutes, however, an epic tackle by Vidic denied the Balon d’or winner and as Rooney broke through on the counter, Mascherano snuffed out the counter attack. At this stage of the game Barcelona really settled into their rhythm and dominated possession. They knocked repeatedly on the Manchester door with good chances falling to Pedro and Villa but Ferguson’s troops continued to ride their luck. It was only a matter of time until the Blaugrana broke the deadlock, and Pedro was on hand to latch onto a Xavi through ball to send Van Der Sar the wrong way to rattle the net and take the lead. Their celebrations were short lived however as Rooney picked up an Abidal throw in to play a delightful one two with Carrick and then Giggs before powering a right footed shot beyond Valdes to tie the game. At the half time break Sir Alex was the more content of the two managers as Barça seemed incapable of capitalising on their numerous chances.
Barcelona resumed the second half in total control and Alves and Carrick were both awarded yellows for rash challenges. Messi proved yet again to have an ace up his sleeve and produced a trademark moment of magic on the hour mark by rifling a left footed thunderbolt from the edge of the area after some good work from Busquets in the box to win the ball back from the United defence to take the lead again. At 2-1 Barcelona were not content to sit on their lead and Villa was at hand ten minutes later to make it three with the most sublime of curling chips from the edge of the area to put the ball and the cup just beyond the reach of the helpless Van der Sar. Guardiola, sensing a two goal cushion, gave Puyol and Afellay a run out in the dying minutes, as the Catalans made United look like a pedestrian pub–side rather than Champions League title contenders.
It ended at 3-1, securing a second Champions League and a tenth title for Guardiola in a three year period. A buoyant Eric Abidal was offered the captain’s armband and given the chance to lift club football’s most coveted prize in a fairytale ending to a season that will live in his and many other football ball fans’ memory for decades to come.
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