Source: Telegraph
How Manchester United can beat Barcelona in the Champions League final
Champions League final
Barcelona v Manchester United
Kick-off: Wed May 27, 7.45pm, Olympic Stadium, Rome, Italy
TV: Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports HD1, ITV1, ITV HD
Radio: BBC Radio Five Live
And in their quest to become the first club to defend the European title in the Champions League era, United have both their own recent history as well as lessons from Chelsea's battle with the Catalans to draw on as they plot a route to victory.
Who will Sir Alex Ferguson pick in Rome?Been there, done that:
This time last year United did what Chelsea couldn't and followed up a 0-0 draw in Barcelona with a 1-0 home win in their semi-final thanks to a terrific goal from Paul Scholes. That night United were without Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney but a commanding performance from Rio Ferdinand, aided and abetted by Wes Brown, saw a superb rearguard action repel everything Barcelona had to throw at them.
Carlos Tevez, Park Ji-Sung and even Cristiano Ronaldo ran themselves in to the ground in a pressing game aimed at unsettling Barca's rhythm and, despite conceding much in the way of possession, the combination of a solid defence, energetic midfield and forwards and touches of class from Ronaldo and Scholes made the difference. It can do again.
Don't worry if Barca have a lot of the ball:
You don't win football matches on possession statistics, only what you actually do with the ball when you have it. The two previous meetings of United and Barcelona have inevitably seen Barcelona's classy midfield own the ball for long periods, as they did against Chelsea in the Nou Camp. But in those three matches they failed to score a single goal and so United need not panic if Xavi, Andreas Iniesta and Lionel Messi have plenty of touches – until they get close to goal.
With Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves both suspended from the final, and Messi and Thierry Henry, who remains a doubt for the final, prone to cutting inside from wide positions, much of Barcelona's intricate passing comes down the centre of the pitch. If United can populate this area with bodies then they can crowd out their opponents before genuine chances are created.
Don't get hung up on Messi:
Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, but United should not become obsessed by him for a dual reason. Firstly, if Jose Bosingwa can get the better of him for much of a match then Patrice Evra is up to the task as well. Such is Messi's class he will undoubtedly cause problems but if Anderson, further up the field, and Ferdinand, at the back, help out the Frenchman a difficult task will be made manageable.
Secondly, Barcelona are not a one man team. Iniesta was the best player across the two legs against Chelsea, even before his goal, while Xavi was the best player at the European Championships, Eto'o is a finisher of lethal proportions and Henry's qualities are well known to an English audience. Focusing too much on Messi at the expense of taking their eyes off such glittering stars elsewhere would be a huge mistake.
The case for the defence:
United have one of the best defences on the continent, as was proved the last time these two teams met. United are unlikely to employ the supposedly dark arts of Chelsea on their trip to the Nou Camp and will attack whenever they get the chance but Sir Alex Ferguson has built such a solid foundation that the forward thinking players can feel at ease to push on.
The case against the defence:
Barcelona's defence, always the weak link anyway, has been decimated by suspension, with Rafael Marquez still a doubt through injury as well. Abidal's sending off against Chelsea and Alves's yellow card in the same match mean Barca will be using understudies on both flanks. Carles Puyol will be back but despite his blood and guts commitment to the Catalan cause there is an unpredictable quality to him and questions over his positional sense that can be exploited by the movement of United's front three.
If United can get in round the back and ask questions of a makeshift defence they should be confident of breaching it.
They're as scared of you as you are of them:
Everyone is rightly in awe of Barca's incredible attacking threat and intricate passing but United have no need to develop an inferiority complex. They are the reigning English, European and world champions with match winners all over the pitch. Barca deserve respect but United will be causing fear in the hearts of their opponents and even go in to the match as marginal favourites.
