UEFA Champions League Final: Barcelona 3 Manchester United 1

Barca masterclass seals trophy

GettyImages: David Villa curls home a sublime third goal.

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Champions League trophy

(GettyImages)

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Scoring Summary

Barcelona	Manchester United
Pedro (27')	Wayne Rooney (34')
Lionel Messi (54')
David Villa (69')

Match Stats

Barcelona

Manchester United

22(12)	Shots (on Goal)	4(1)
5	Fouls	16
6	Corner Kicks	0
1	Offsides	5
68%	Time of Possession	32%
2	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
0	Saves	9

Teams

Barcelona	Manchester United
1 Victor Valdés	1 Edwin van der Sar
3 Gerard Piqué	15 Nemanja Vidic
14 Javier Mascherano	5 Rio Ferdinand
22 Eric Abidal	3 Patrice Evra
2 Dani Alves	20 Fabio
16 Sergio Busquets	11 Ryan Giggs
8 Andrés Iniesta	16 Michael Carrick
6 Xavi	13 Park Ji-Sung
7 David Villa	25 Antonio Valencia
10 Lionel Messi	10 Wayne Rooney
17 Pedro	14 Javier Hernández
Substitutes
15 Seydou Keita	Michael Owen 7
5 Carles Puyol	Paul Scholes 18
21 Adriano	Darren Fletcher 24
20 Ibrahim Afellay	Tomasz Kuszczak 29
9 Bojan Krkic	Nani 17
38 Olazábal	Anderson 8
30 Thiago	Chris Smalling 12
Substitutions
Seydou Keita for David Villa (86)	Nani for Fabio (69)
Carles Puyol for Dani Alves (88)	Paul Scholes for Michael Carrick (77)
Ibrahim Afellay for Pedro (90)
Yellow Cards
Dani Alves (60)	Michael Carrick (61)
Victor Valdés (85)	Antonio Valencia (79)
· Squads: Barcelona | Manchester United

For the second time in three years, brilliant Barcelona denied Manchester United Champions League glory with a sensational performance at Wembley.

MATCH SUMMARY

Man of the Match - Xavi: It's tempting to give it to Man United keeper Edwin van de Sar for a making a string of saves in his last match before retiring but, predictably, it has to go to Xavi. The midfield maestro stepped up to captain his team in the absence of Carles Puyol and laid on the all important first goal for Pedro with a sublime pass. After a slow start he maintained that level for the rest of the match, keeping United's defence bamboozled while Messi and Villa wreaked havoc.

Barcelona verdict: Just like in Rome two years ago, Barca started slowly but after ten minutes they settled down and after 20 minutes it was obvious they were a class above United. A makeshift back four were rarely troubled due to the trademark pressing by the players in front of them and, when they had the ball, the Catalans proved to be unstoppable. They cut through the United midfield like it wasn't there and peppered Van der Sar's goal for the rest of the match.

Man Utd verdict: They tried as hard as they could, but gave the ball away too cheaply on too many occasions and as a result couldn't put Barca under pressure. United had one shot on target and that was the goal for Wayne Rooney. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand both made some great tackles and Van der Sar made a string of great saves, but it still wasn't enough as their team-mates couldn't carry a threat in attack.

Could do better - Ryan Giggs: He is a man in form but he struggled at Wembley and was shifted out to the wing when United's central midfield was overrun and was then skinned by Dani Alves. But his worst moment came when he stopped to appeal for a penalty when he still had possession of the ball in the Barcelona area.

Stat attack: Barcelona may only have won a record equalling 11th European trophy tonight, but they have won more League and European Cup doubles than any other team in history.

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• Brewin: Barca machine purrs
• Fergie: Barca the best
• Guardiola delighted
• Vidic: Barca deserved it
• Jolly: The long hard goodbye
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Although United could take some small consolation from the knowledge they were more effective than that 2009 letdown in Rome and even managed to level Pedro's first-half strike through Wayne Rooney, once again the better team won.On the ground where the Catalans lifted their first European Cup, Lionel Messi also laid his personal ghost to rest, scoring his first goal for Barcelona on English soil, belting home what proved to be the winner nine minutes into the second half.David Villa curled home an equally splendid third with just over 20 minutes to go to set the seal on Barcelona's fourth Champions League win and end all arguments about their right to be regarded among the truly great teams that have ever played the game.It was a gut-wrenching night for United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who started it by making one of those brave decisions for which he is so renowned. Not even finding a place on the bench for his record signing and top scorer, Dimitar Berbatov, was a big call.United could not have made a better start either. Park Ji-sung set the tone, nipping in to whip the ball away from Dani Alves. Just as Jack Wilshere advised, the white shirts got right in Barcelona's faces, pressing them, allowing no room for them to settle.Unlike two years ago, Ferguson's team did not create a clear-cut chance. However, former Red Devil Gerard Pique was very fortunate to get away with a back pass to Victor Valdes, when his goalkeeper was much closer than he realised. With Javier Hernandez closing in, Valdes scrambled the ball away.It was the template United needed to follow. To have done it for the entire 90 minutes would have required additional lung capacity. And once Barcelona got into their stride, they were relentless.For once Ryan Giggs looked every one of those 37 years as Xavi and Andres Iniesta flashed around him, holes appearing everywhere.Pedro prodded wide at the near post. Villa hit exactly the same point in the advertising hoarding with a 20-yard effort that had Edwin van der Sar scrambling.If there was one consolation, other than Nemanja Vidic's colossal performance at the heart of their defence, it was that United had prevented Messi running at them from deep.Unfortunately, he soon started doing it, his close control near-perfect, as was a Vidic lunge to stop the world's best player as he was about to break clean through.It was just a matter of time. Another hole for Xavi to chase into. He looked. He looked again. He rolled the ball to Pedro, who beat Van der Sar with ease.Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola sat back, sensing United would not be able to respond. His opposite number urged more from his team, particularly Antonio Valencia.The Ecuador wide man was not at his best. However, it was Rooney who needed a performance on the biggest stage, having failed so miserably at the World Cup.And it was Rooney who delivered at the end of a move which saw the Premier League champions carve Barcelona open with their own game.A quick pass from Fabio to Rooney, to Michael Carrick, to Rooney, to Giggs, to Rooney, into the corner from 15 yards. Simple. Football is never that. Not at this level, and not when Messi is involved.You had to feel sorry for United. Barcelona were back into their rhythm almost immediately after the break, the concentration required to always be in the right place at the right time phenomenal.After more stoic defending, Iniesta rolled a pass to the Argentinian, a worthy heir to Diego Maradona.Offered a couple of yards to dart into, he did exactly that, then beat Van der Sar with a 20-yard shot that required barely any back lift, the veteran Dutchman unable to get down to it.Vidic was on hand to hack away when Van der Sar spilled Messi's next effort, although, playing in his fifth final, the former Ajax man redeemed himself when he brilliantly turned away a Xavi shot that would have ripped away any hope.By introducing Nani for Fabio and pushing Valencia to full-back, the United boss was attempting to push Barcelona towards their own goal. Before the strategy could be applied, Nani committed suicide by gifting the ball to Messi by the touchline.In attempting to atone for his error, the winger made it worse. Sergio Busquets quickly laid the ball off to Villa, who took one touch before curling a sublime shot into the top corner. From that hammer blow, there was no way back.