European Leagues / Editor / 27 May 2009 / Leave a comment

Messi and Iniesta orchestrate superb victory for Barca as United fail in bid to win consecutive Euopean titles...

Barcelona are the winners of the 2008/09 Champions League after they beat Manchester United 2-0 in the final in Rome.

The Catalans, who were matched at [3.5] to win the final but traded as high as [30.0] in the winner market when they looked to be heading out in the semi-final, were superior to United in every department.

United started well with Cristiano Ronaldo running at Barca's makeshift back four and testing Victor Valdes with free-kicks but the Spanish side took control of the game after 10 minutes when [10.0] first goalscorer Samuel Eto'o squeezed his shot past Edwin Van der Sar at the near post. It was Barca's first attack but they did not look back.

United could not get a foothold in the game as Barca monopolised possession. When they did have the ball, United surrendered it easily - Michael Carrick was too quick to attempt the through ball and Anderson looked out of his depth against the technically flawless midfield duo of Xavi and Andreas Iniesta.

Iniesta was at the heart of everything Barca did but Messi was a constant menace too. He befuddled United's defenders with the ball at his feet and found space with dazzling frequency. For United, Ronaldo become increasingly marginal and frustrated and if the match had been billed as a contest between United's number seven and Messi beforehand, there was only one winner.

With 20 minutes to go the Argentinian got free of Rio Ferdinand, rose into the air to meet Xavi's glorious cross and headed the ball beyond Edwin Van der Sar to make it 2-0 - a scoreline which was matched at [21.0].

There was no way back for United and, despite a bookings for Ronaldo and Paul Scholes as tempers flickered late on, at the final whistle the English champions were magnanimous in defeat.

Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that they had been beaten by a superior side but vowed that his team would return stronger next season. For his opposite number Pep Guardiola, the Champions League marks the pinnacle of a dream debut season in management as tonight's win makes for a superb treble along with Barca's La Liga title and Spanish Cup triumphs.