There was no repeat of 1968 Wembley euphoria for Manchester United in their bid to lift a fourth European Cup, just an unwelcome reminder of how it felt to be outplayed in 2009. Once again, United could not get enough of the ball to do themselves justice, once again their most experienced players were unable to impose themselves and for a second time in three seasons, Barcelona did almost exactly as they pleased.
It is supposed to be United who do what they want, but they were even more comprehensively taken apart than was the case two years ago. With Lionel Messi dazzling once again, United only had Wayne Rooney's aggression with which to counter some scintillating passing and movement, and only some erratic, almost casual finishing from the Spanish side prevented the score reflecting what a mismatch this really was. Barcelona could easily have been three goals to the good by half-time, and must have been in double figures for scoring opportunities in the second half by the time David Villa scored a third to kill off any faint United hopes of recovery.
Barcelona had been unable to name quite their strongest team too, with their influential captain, Carles Puyol, only fit enough for a place on the bench and Javier Mascherano having to continue as emergency centre-half. The United line-up was the one everyone had guessed in advance, though Sir Alex Ferguson too sprang a surprise among the substitutes, with Michael Owen's selection nudging Dimitar Berbatov out of the entire squad. In the end, Puyol came on for the last couple of minutes, with Barcelona in celebratory mode well before the end. Owen stayed in his seat.
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