A United outcome

Lawton: Fergie 'incomparable'

I think United will beat Barcelona and beat them quite convincingly.

Mark Lawton
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Sir Alex Ferguson will become the first manager to retain the Champions League title on Wednesday - that's the unanimous verdict of the Sunday Supplement panel.

Fresh from guiding Manchester United to the Premier League title, Scot Ferguson takes his side to Rome on Wednesday where Barcelona will stand between him and another remarkable headline in his managerial story.

"All of the things he has done are extraordinary," said the Daily Mail's Matt Lawton. "He's won 11 Championships in 17 years.

"When Liverpool won 11 in that 18-year period between 1972/73 to 1989/90 they used four managers. He's done it on his own in 17 years.

"I know we are splitting hairs here but I just think (his achievements) are incomparable."

Creative

The match has been billed in some quarters as a dream final and, through gritted teeth, the News of the World's Rob Beasley agreed it should be an attractive game.

"Barcelona should have walked away (from the game) and let Chelsea play it," he joked, referring to the controversial semi-final, second leg between the two sides.

"I think it will be a fairly open football match; I've got to say I hope Manchester United trounce them because I don't think they deserve to be there.

"I think Manchester United are a little bit better than Chelsea. They are stronger in defence, more creative in midfield and more punishing and clinical in attack.

"Chelsea over the two legs had good copper-bottom chances to have killed the game off without any reference to Norwegian referees or anything like that but they didn't do it. I think Manchester United will.

"I think Barcelona are susceptible at the back and if anyone can exploit that weakness it is Manchester United with the vast array of players and skills they have got."

Work

Lawton believes Ferguson will start the game with Ronaldo up front on his own, and added: "At the end of the day, Barcelona are at their most dangerous on the flanks and he will want (Wayne) Rooney out on that left flank to give (Patrice) Evra some help against (Lionel) Messi.

"He's going to want someone to do some work and he can't really rely on Ronaldo to put the work in. He doesn't track back as much as Fergie would like him to when you are playing a team like Barcelona.

"But I think United will beat them and beat them quite convincingly. The one fear is that there isn't an early red card like Jens Lehmann got in 2006 when Arsenal played them and suddenly one team goes into their shell."

Backlash

Sam Wallace, of The Independent agreed that United's formation will be crucial. "A lot depends on where Ronaldo plays. If United don't start with either Dimitar Berbatov or Carlos Tevez and he plays him almost like a centre forward, then I think he does become a key player.

"If he really turns it on then United are a different team. United are still more than capable of beating Barcelona when Ronaldo puts in a five out of 10 performance, but he is still their key man particularly if they are chasing a game.

"Of all of the great players in that United team to get a goal out of the most unpromising of circumstances, then he is the guy."

He added: "The interesting thing about Barcelona is that there has been a bit of a backlash against them. They are quite preachy about this 'more than a club' stuff.

"I think you noticed at Stamford Bridge that their bench is just as irritable and nasty and niggly as (Jose) Mourinho's mob were under him at Chelsea.

"I think Barcelona are a little bit high-minded. Everyone thinks there club is special. Just because they are Barcelona they don't have a right to win this trophy just because they've scored 100-odd goals. They've got to go and beat United on Wednesday and like the rest of the lads I think United will win."