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One goal away from Moscow

After a fine run in the Champions League, FC Barcelona were knocked out in the semi-finals by Manchester United at Old Trafford, the only defeat in Europe for Frank Rijkaard’s side.

Previously Barça had come top of Group E ahead of Olympique de Lyon, Glasgow Rangers and Stuttgart.

Top with 14 points

In the group stages Barça were on top form from start to finish. They beat all three of their opponents in the Camp Nou and picked up valuable draws away in Scotland and France together with a victory at Stuttgart. After the fifth round of matches Rijkaard’s men were certain of top spot in their group.

Four wins over Celtic and Schalke 04

By coming top Barça assured themselves a match-up with a second placed side, which in this case was to be Celtic. The Catalans gave a superb performance to win away in Glasgow by 2-3 followed up by a 1-0 home win in the game when Messi got injured.

In the quarter finals Barça took on Schalke. They won both legs by 1 goal to nil, with the goal in the first leg away at Gelsenkirchen being Bojan’s first in Europe.

Better than United but no goals

In the semi-finals Barça were drawn with Manchester United and dominated both the home and away legs. At the Camp Nou Barça had a slice of luck when Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in the second minute, but they had no more for the rest of the game as in spite of having all the possession they couldn’t score and the match ended in a nil-nil draw.

Next up was the visit to Old Trafford, where once again Rijkaard’s men had the lion’s share of possession but could not score. United, by contrast, took advantage of one of Barça’s few defensive mistakes when a fine strike by Scholes produced the goal that took the Mancunians through to the final. It was Barça’s first loss in Europe in the season, and by one goal they were out of the competition.

Here are all Barça’s results in the 2007/08 Champions League.