Source: Daily_Mail
So, how were Manchester United outgunned? Fergie gameplan torn up by brilliant Barca
ShareSir Alex Ferguson made great play of the fact that Manchester United had studied all the videos, done all the training sessions and had a gameplan to beat Barcelona. [LNB]The harsh reality is his squad could have practised until Christmas and still not have come anywhere close to matching this Barcelona team for all ages. Everyone was waiting to see how United would beat off the great team sent out by Pep Guardiola.[LNB]Would it be by pressing, harrying and knocking the Catalans out of their stride? Or would it be by to defend deep, stay disciplined and try to hit them on the break? In the end, Fergie's men did neither. [LNB]'United started strongly and finished strongly but in the middle it was a procession for Barcelona,' said Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, who scored the Wembley winner in the 1978 European Cup final. Former England boss Steve McClaren believes United's downfall was caused by their inability totrack Barca's bewildering runs.[LNB] Vision express: The United defence backs off as Xavi sets up Pedro's first goal[LNB]BARCA'S KILLER MOVEMENTDalglish believes it is easy to try and think of ways to stop the Barcelona players, but almost impossible to achieve because of the rapid interchanging of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and the front three. [LNB]'United started exactly how they would have wanted to,' said Dalglish. 'They pushed Barcelona up high, kept up a high tempo and didn't let them settle at the back. But once Pedro, Leo Messi and David Villa made their first runs in behind the defence, United got stretched. [LNB]'Then, Barcelona started to dominate possession and that is when it becomes really hard to chase them. It is not easy to press, press, press when the other team has the ball. Otherwise everyone would do it! [LNB]'When Barca are so strong, you need to be incredibly disciplined to stop them. You virtually have to handcuff yourselves to them. But there should be no embarrassment for United's team, I don't think if Darren Fletcher had been fully fit and played for 90 minutes, the outcome would have been any different.'[LNB]McClaren agrees with that reasoning of why United were outplayed.[LNB]'The defending was all last-ditch,' he said. 'Too often United were not in shape and looking around at each other. Michael Carrick looked bewildered at times, and there were waves of Barcelona players coming at him.'[LNB] Unfavourable odds: Pedro gives five United the players the slip[LNB]THE MESSI FACTORThe World Player of the Year hardly touched the ball in the opening minutes when United were at their best. But just like the 2009 Champions League final, he recovered quickly and set Barcelona on their way to complete dominance. [LNB]'Messi worked it out, dropped into midfield and United were killed in there as a result,' said McClaren. [LNB]'United were outnumbered in midfield just as they were two years ago and they didn't deal with it.' [LNB]Once Messi had picked up the ball deep and was able to run at United's defenders, the result was carnage. One dribble past four defenders had the Wembley fans on their seats and only a shove by Carrick that went unpunished prevented him from finishing the chance off. If three United players went to him, he was able to pick out a team-mate with peripheral vision.[LNB]Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson, at Wembley commentating for radio, said: 'He is a magician, he gets out of every cul de sac.'[LNB]Only outstanding last-gasp tackles from Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand denied Messi a goal in the first half. But it was no surprise when just past the hour, he dropped his shoulder to go past Patrice Evra and shot past Edwin van der Sar.[LNB] Evading capture: The quicksilver Lionel Messi proved typically elusive[LNB]McClaren suggests that the only thing United could have done to counteract Messi was to detail one of their centre-halves, Ferdinand or Vidic, to effectively man-mark him by following him back into midfield. [LNB]'In Holland, you might push a centre-half up if you are getting dominated in midfield. It is something English teams are not used to tactically, they are more used to a zonal back four.'[LNB]Dalglish admits Messi's role in Barcelona's front three led to fatal problems for United. [LNB]'Ferdinand and Vidic were outstanding but sometimes they didn't have anyone to mark because Messi is not an orthodox centre-forward, he moves about all over the place. [LNB]And if you move up to mark him, one of the others, Pedro or David Villa, will drop into the space.' Former England manager Graham Taylor thought United did not get stuck into Messi often enough, although there were some meaty tackles on him from Antonio Valencia.[LNB]'You cannot give that type of player that type of space,' said Taylor. 'You have to recognise how good Barcelona are, their ability to play in such tight situations. If you don't do that, you're opening yourself up.' [LNB]United never got to grips with Messi. Giggs looked his 37 years and with Carrick also lacking mobility, it was a puzzle that one of them was not replaced by the more energetic Anderson.[LNB] Ageing process: Ryan Giggs looked all of his 37 years[LNB]UNITED LACK COMPOSURE'When you are without the ball for long periods, the temptation when you get it is to feel under pressure and you give it back again too quickly,' said Dalglish. [LNB]McClaren felt United were not positive enough. 'To win the game, United had to outscore Barcelona. Barca are great going forward but they were vulnerable at the back.' [LNB]HOW XAVI GAVE CARRICK A MIDFIELD MASTERCLASS WAYNE ROONEYWayne Rooney never stopped running and played to a higher level than his team-mates. Dalglish, an avowed Rooney fan even though he plays for Liverpool's fiercest rivals, said: 'Rooney looked the one United forward player who was good enough to have settled into the Barcelona team.' [LNB]Rooney's strike to level the game for United after 34 minutes was top quality and ends the suspicion that he has never 'done it' on the big stage.[LNB] Messi the magician: Sir Alex hails Barcelona as 'the best we've ever played'Barcelona 3 Manchester United 1: Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa crown Barca kings of EuropePatrick Collins: How can they fail with the enchanting genius Lionel Messi at their heart?So, how were Manchester United outgunned? Fergie gameplan torn up by brilliant BarcaBarcelona v Manchester United - the TV battle: Chiles play is at odds with Tyler's classAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion [LNB] Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, David Villa, Nemanja Vidic, Andres Iniesta, Leo Messi, Graham Taylor, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Kenny Dalglish, Xavi, Antonio Valencia, Edwin Van Der Sar, Michael Carrick, Steve McClaren Places: Barcelona, Liverpool, The Netherlands, United Kingdom
