Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
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Goals from each of Barcelona’s three frontmen, Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa, ensured victory for the Catalan giants, and such was their dominance that if anything the 3-1 scoreline flattered United.
Five minutes in this didn’t look as if it would be the case, as United hit the ground running while Barca looked nervy, uncharacteristically struggling to keep hold of the ball. But soon enough they got into their stride, and gradually increased the pressure until Pedro broke the deadlock (27) after Xavi found him unmarked just outside the penalty box.
A goal looked unlikely for United, but arrived all the same as Wayne Rooney expertly converted after interplay between Ryan Giggs that even Barca would have been proud of. The score remained 1-1 at half-time, but it was clear that the Reds were struggling to keep it at that.
And soon after the restart a goal came, as Messi (54) found space in front of United’s back four and subsequently slotted past a poorly positioned Edwin Van der Sar. The Catalonians clinched victory shortly after with the best goal of the night, with David Villa (69) classily lifting a curling effort into the top left-hand corner of the goal.
The ease with which Barca passed the ball around United’s midfield and through their defence showed just how good this team is; their superiority was akin to United’s superiority over the lower teams of the Premier League. The stats confirm this, showing Barca to have dominated possession 68% / 32%, as well as having 22 goal attempts to United’s 4.
The usual suspects were again on show, as the telepathic pair Xavi and Andres Iniesta ran rings around the midfield. Their dominance has become a familiar sight over the years, and such is their brilliance that the opposition know exactly how it is they intend to play yet can do nothing to stop them. Lionel Messi too starred, scoring to become this season’s Champions League top scorer. His dribbling was at its best, and overall gave a final performance worthy of one of the all-time greats.
With three consecutive League titles and with two out of three Champions League victories, few clubs in history can claim to have bettered Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. Bitter rivals Madrid will put forward the case of their Di Stefano- inspired team of the late 50s which won five consecutive Champions League titles, as well as their ‘Galacticos’ team at the turn of the century.
Nor should we take lightly the greatness of Ajax’s Total Football team of the early 70s, Franz Beckenbauer’s Bayern Munich of the mid 70s and the Dutch flavoured A.C. Milan of the early 90s. But what makes this Barcelona team so special is their blending of style and success, and that their core players have repeated such success on the international stage with Spain, winning the 2008 European Championships and 2010 World Cup.
With a few more European and International titles, the core of Xavi, Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Carlos Puyol, Sergio Busquets, Pedro and Villa could yet make the current Barcelona and Spain incarnations the undisputed greatest club and international team of all time.
Barca were very impressive. The best team ever? I don't know but they are certainly close. I'm glad Guardiola has decided to stay on for another year but after that I'd love to see him in the Premier League!
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