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Match
Marcador del partit
- Date: Saturday, 28 May
- Competition: ???label.competicio1???
- Stadium: Wembley, London
Resultat:
- FC Barcelona: 3
- Manchester U.: 1
Match report
Match Report
Fourth European Cup is ours! (3-1)
Miquel Pellicer
Barça put in a sublime performance to take their fourth European Cup by beating Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley tonight . Pedro, Messi and Villa were on target to ensure the team repeated the 1992 Wembley success.
Barça again lifted the European Cup at Wembley after a great performance whish saw the Club claim
their fourth European Cup. The team repeated the success of 1992, when the Club took its first
European Cup and with goals from the great trio of Messi, Villa and Pedro, they brushed aside the
challenge of a competitive Manchester United to win 3-1.
The first half saw Barça dominate much more than the scoreline might suggest, with Rooney
pegging back Pedro’s opener very much against the run of play. Even so, the first 10 minutes
of the game recalled the 2006 final, with United coming out of the blocks the stronger, which Barça
answered with some solid defending and a gradual development of their trademark possession
football. Valdes showed his worth early on with a punch out when Rooney closed in on a Van der Saar
clearance.
Messi-Xavi-Iniesta
After Valdes’ intervention, Barça really began to turn on the style as Xavi, Iniesta
and Messi began to combine and there was nothing that Ferguson’s much vaunted tactics could
do to stop the trio as they began to put Villa and Pedro into dangerous positions.
Chances aplenty
The chances were coming thick and thin now, with Messi tiptoeing through the
sluggish United defence, Villa trying his luck from the edge of the box and finally, Pedro opening
the scoring with a well struck shot after receiving a killer pass from Xavi – the Spanish
forward’s fifth goal in the Champions League this campaign.
Equaliser spurs Barça on
Despite the Barça domination though, a quick move between Giggs and Rooney saw the England
centre forward hit home an equaliser on 34 minutes. That goal just seemed to push the Barça players
to even greater control and they had a number of chances to take the lead again before the break,
including a great set piece move that nearly undid the English defence.
Two great strikes
If the first half was dominated by Barça, then the second was an even more one
sided affair as two great goals on 53 and 69 minutes gave Guardiola’s team a well deserved
3-1 lead. Messi hit home a wonderful strike from outside the box to culminate a lovely team move
for the second goal and Villa hit a beautiful curling shot home for the third. It wasn’t just
those moments of magic that were doing for United though, it was the almost total control that
Barça were showing that was silencing the Manchester fans and leaving their team helpless to
respond to Guardiola’s men’s domination.
Back to Wembley and back for a win!
Koeman’s brilliant free kick gave Barça their first European Cup at Wembley in 1992,
but it was the collective play of Guardiola’s team that brought the trophy back this time.
The win puts a fantastic end to the double winning season and it was achieved with the team’s
trademark domination based on their great understanding and control of possession. Make a space in
the Museum –the fourth European Cup is on its way back home!
Preview
We owe you one
www.fcbarcelona.cat
“We owe you one”, said Guardiola during last season’s league title celebrations. 377 days later and he has the chance to keep his word at Wembley (20.45, R@dio Barça), where Barça are seeking their 4th Champions League title against Manchester United
Last season, FC Barcelona narrowly missed out on another final appearance.
Josep Guardiola
lamented that when celebrating their 2009/10 Liga title at the Camp Nou: “this Saturday
we were meant to be somewhere, but we didn’t make it. We owe you one … and these
players won’t let you down”. Pep and his squad have kept their word, and the club now
has the chance to collect the trophy for the fourth time.
The fixture oozes symbolism.
FC Barcelona and Manchester United
meet tonight in the grand final at Wembley, the place where both clubs won Europe’s
premier club competition for the first time. And they also meet again in a final for the second
time in just three years, after Barcelona emerged triumphant in Rome in 2009.
All set
Josep Guardiola has his
full squad available
for this game, other than the suspended Pinto. Milito has been declared back to full fitness,
and the manager has taken all the other 20 first team members plus Oier, Miño and Thiago from the B
team. The biggest doubt surrounding team selection involves Puyol, Abidal and Mascherano, one of
whom will play centre back and another at left back. But only two of the three are likely to
feature in the starting eleven.
Man United hungry for revenge
But
Alex Ferguson
doesn’t have much to worry about in terms of injuries and suspensions either. He is also
seeking the fourth Champions League for his club, and the third of his own, where his main concern
is deciding whether to go into the game with one striker, or the two he usually opts for in the
Premiership. Two years ago, Barcelona smothered the United midfield and brushed the English outfit
aside for much of the second half.
After the double
Also, both Barça and Manchester United, having won their respective leagues, are
going to Wembley to round off what would be almost perfect seasons. And the fact the venue is
Wembley means a lot to both sets of fans. It was there that the United of Bobby Charlton and George
Best won the club’s first European Cup in 1968, and it was also at the former Empire Stadium
that the Dream Team under Cruyff made similar history in 1992. On Saturday, Barça or United will
become the first European champions to be crowned at the newly rebuilt Wembley. This is the dream
final, and the chance for one of these two great sides to secure an unforgettable double.
Next match
Competition: Friendly Game
Home team:
Hajduk Split
Visiting team:
FC Barcelona
Date: 23-07-11 Time: 20:30
Stadium: Poljud de Split
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