[ 2011-05-29 ]

Messi inspires Barcelona to beat Man U. in Uefa Champs Lge final
Barcelona, inspired by the peerless Lionel Messi,
delivered a soccer masterclass to overwhelm
Manchester United 3-1 in the Champions League
final and lift the European Cup for the fourth
time on Saturday.

Messi was at his inspirational best all night at
Wembley as the champions of Spain left the
champions of England looking like desperate
also-rans in the face of their relentless
intricate passing and deadly movement.

United somehow reached halftime level at 1-1 after
Wayne Rooney cancelled out Pedro's opening goal
but Barcelona continued their dominance after the
break.

A superb Messi goal and a precise 18-metre curler
by David Villa, underlined the Spanish side's
dominance over the team they also beat in the 2009
final.

After a short-lived United flurry at the start,
Barca were soon in control as they probed
constantly in and around the United box.

Although the English side kept them at bay with a
series of last-ditch tackles they were eventually
undone in the 27th minute when Xavi cleverly
delayed a pass to open space for Pedro to calmly
tuck the ball beyond Edwin van der Sar.

United looked almost out of their depth but showed
why they have reached three finals in the last
four seasons by conjuring a well-made equalizer
after 34 minutes.

Rooney played a one-two with Michael Carrick then
another with Ryan Giggs before sweeping the ball
high into the net.

Messi was millimetres away from a second goal
after another high-speed give and go with Villa
but somehow United reached halftime on level
terms.

The parity on the scoreboard was short-lived
though as Barca immediately regained control and,
after more near misses, duly went ahead in the
54th minute.

United's defenders made the fatal error of
standing off Messi on the edge of the box and the
Argentine maestro took full advantage driving the
ball in low for the 53rd and most important goal
of his remarkable season.

It was Messi who set up the third too as he surged
into the box and, though the ball was
half-cleared, it went straight to Villa who killed
it instantly before curling a superb 18-metre shot
into the top cornet.

Source - Ghanasoccer

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