BARCELONA
VICTOR VALDES: Recovered well after
spilling Cristiano Ronaldo’s early free-kick, Valdes was always
alert and made a brave close-range save from the same player at 2-0
up. 7/10
CARLES PUYOL: Calm, strong leadership from
the veteran who should have well-deserved a goal but headed
straight at Edwin van der Sar. 8
YAYA TOURE: Will have been shocked by the
lack of hard work he was presented with, he nevertheless knuckled
down and did the necessary. 7
GERARD PIQUE: Showed great awareness after
only a minute and a half to block Ji-Sung Park’s follow-up shot
from Ronaldo’s free-kick. Solid throughout. 7
SYLVINHO: Less influential towards the end
but the Brazilian was a big influence in the first hour, providing
plenty of dangerous overlaps and a constant outlet on the left
flank. 8
XAVI: Superior performance from the
cultured midfielder. Always excellent in possession, he curled a
free-kick against the post and picked out Lionel Messi with an
exquisite cross for the second. 9
SERGIO BUSQUETS: Unfussy and unflappable,
made plenty of tackles and laid off possession astutely. 7
ANDRES INIESTA: Showed great close
control, a wide range of passing and ensured the Premier League
champions could barely get a look in in midfield. Always on hand in
defence and attack. 9
LIONEL MESSI: Oozed stature throughout, he
will draw satisfaction from outperforming Ronaldo and, after a
dazzling run on the stroke of half-time was well worth his
second-half goal. 8
SAMUEL ETO’O: The Cameroon forward fully
deserves the plaudits for putting paid to United’s promising start
with a wonderfully-taken goal after 10 minutes. Not at his best
from then on but still a match-winning contribution. 7
THIERRY HENRY: Delighted to get one over
on his old adversaries, was just denied by Van der Sar after some
fine close control in the box. 7
Substitutes:
SEYDOU KEITA (for Henry, 71 mins): A leggy
United already looked beaten by the time Keita arrived on the
scene. 6
RODRIGUEZ PEDRITO (for Iniesta, 90 mins):
Only time to celebrate. 5
MANCHESTER UNITED
EDWIN VAN DER SAR: Made some important
stops and saves, not least from Henry and Puyol, but will be
unhappy to be well beaten by Eto’o at his near post. 7
JOHN O’SHEA: A solid outing from the
Irishman who held firm and could not be blamed for either goal.
6
RIO FERDINAND. Struggled with his
distribution in the first period and never once looked on top of
Barca’s free-flowing forward line. 5
NEMANJA VIDIC: The Red Devils’ player of
the season avoided humiliation against an attacking trio who have
shredded lesser defenders but, like his partner, made little
impact. 6
PATRICE EVRA: Appeared redundant at times
as his supposed task of keeping Messi quiet was rendered moot by
the forward’s constant drifting into central positions.
AWOL going forward. 5
ANDERSON: Started well but faded to
anonymity after Barca’s opener and paid the price for his side’s
lethargy when he was replaced at half-time. 5
MICHAEL CARRICK: Symptomatic of United’s
general malaise in the middle of the park, Carrick failed to find
his runners and had no answer to a superb opposition midfield.
5
RYAN GIGGS: Not one of the Welshman’s most
distinguished displays but he was cooler in possession than most of
his team-mates despite tiring. 6
PARK JI-SUNG: Park has a reputation as a
big-game player but there were no magic moments from the South
Korean despite bags of energy and a couple of near misses. 6
CRISTIANO RONALDO: The mercurial
Portuguese looked set to have one of his special nights when he
went close in only the second minute, but despite his constant
energy he was bested almost every time when it mattered. 6
WAYNE ROONEY: Looked unhappy to be out on
a limb instead of his favoured central position and spent 90
minutes trying – and conspicuously failing – to get involved. 5
Substitutes:
CARLOS TEVEZ (on for Anderson, 45 mins):
Anticipation from United’s fans was tangible when the Argentina
striker was sent on for the second period but it was an uninspired
shift. 5
DIMITAR BERBATOV (for Park, 66 mins):
Typically laconic cameo with little or no end product. 5
PAUL SCHOLES: (for Giggs, 75 mins): Handed
a thankless task for the final quarter of an hour he merely
succeeded in earning a booking for a trademark foul. 5
