Pep Guardiola's brilliant Barcelona won the Champions League final after an incredible performance in a 3-1 win over Man United.
Sir Alex's side left chasing shadows as brilliant Catalans boss Wembley showpiece
History repeated itself at Wembley as Manchester United were left chasing Barcelona's shadow in a European Cup final, with Pep Guardiola's side producing another masterclass in reclaiming the UEFA Champions League with a deserved 3-1 victory in the capital.
United went into half-time level after Wayne Rooney had exquisitely equalised Pedro's opener for Barcelona but after the interval had to concede to their opponent's collective and individual genius, as Lionel Messi and David Villa both etched their names on the scoresheet.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side were spirited throughout but in the end had no answer to a Barcelona team that plays a brand of football that is unparalleled in the modern game in terms of its majestic simplicity.
Before a ball had even been kicked, both coaches had demonstrated possessing backbones made of iron in making unsentimental and unflinching team selections. For United, top goalscorer Dimitar Berbatov was afforded not even a place on the substitutes' bench, with Michael Owen surprisingly preferred to the 21-goal Bulgarian to provide striking back-up for Rooney and Javier Hernandez.
Tough choices
In resisting the urge to start with the fit-again Darren Fletcher, the Scot remained true to his promise of trading blows with Barca, when many had predicted he would box clever and utilise his compatriot in a tight midfield five designed to hustle as far up the field as possible.
Guardiola sprung an even bigger shock when leaving out the club's heartbeat and captain Carles Puyel, with the Caveman of Catalunya left to lick his wounds on the bench as Javier Mascherano was selected alongside Gerard Pique at centre-half.
As the atmosphere simmered inside a stadium that housed both clubs' first European Cup wins, in 1968 and 1992 respectively, the inclusion of Eric Abidal in Barcelona's starting XI despite only having recently returned to playing after a battle with liver cancer provided a human element to proceedings that put into perspective Bill Shankly's infamous quip about life, death and its relation to football.
The opening sparring almost held up a mirror to the game which ensued in Rome two years' ago as United snarled out of the traps with a collective curled lip. The omnipresent Park ji-Sung was like a dog with a bone in gnarling at the legs of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, while Hernandez's infectious workrate and clever movement in the lines between Pique and Mascherano gave Barcelona plenty to ponder.
Bright start
Twice Victor Valdes was forced to race off his line after first Edwin van der Sar's huge clearance up field and then Ryan Giggs' more subtle threaded pass threatened to get United in behind.
As if bristled by United's brio, Barcelona soon awoke from their relative slumber to engineer chances of their own. Trademark pockets of pretty football had United at full stretch as Rio Ferdinand had to show immaculate timing on Villa to dispossess the Spaniard with his left boot cocked to strike, before Van der Sar gathered smartly as the same player looked to shoot across him from Xavi's cute pass.
Such is the precision of Xavi's passing it looks as though he has worked them out beforehand with a protractor and so it proved as Guardiola's on-field lieutenant began to dictate from the centre of the field.
It was, though, from the right that he fashioned Barca's first
