Facts of the manu massacre....

[Twan]

The difference between Barcelona and Manchester United was clear to see during the Champions League final, as Lionel Messi inspired Pep Guardiola's side to a 3-1 victory.

But the collective effort of the Catalan team was crucial in constructing the win, demonstrated by the following statistics courtesy of Opta.

777 - Total number of passes that Barcelona made in the final, more than double Manchester United's 357. Barca had 69% of overall ball possession.

148 - Passes that Spanish midfielder Xavi completed during the game, a high for the Champions League this season. He misplaced only seven, giving him a completion rate of 95%.

90 - Percentage of passes completed by the Barcelona team. United's was 80%.

60 - Passes between Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the most common pass journey on the pitch. United's most frequent combination was between defender Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic (16).

55 - Number of times Xavi and Iniesta passed to Messi.

18 - Passes made by Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes - two more than Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez.

16 - Times United fouled Barcelona's players. Barcelona did likewise to their opponents on only five occasions.

15 - Dribbles by Messi, of which 10 were successful. Wayne Rooney was the next most frequent dribbler with six.

12 - Shots on target by Barcelona. Messi and Iniesta had three of these each.

11.95 - According to Uefa, distance in kilometres covered by Xavi, the highest in the Barcelona team. Ryan Giggs covered the greatest distance by a United player (11.16km).

1 - Number of shots that Manchester United had on target. This was Rooney's 34th-minute goal.

[Mosiah]

Key -

60 - Passes between Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the most common pass journey on the pitch. United's most frequent combination was between defender Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic (16).

[Gamma]

giggs coverage of real estate is impressive ... is he older than scholes?

[Muadib]

I think he is as old as Tappa..

hmm...

[Lazie]

giggs coverage of real estate is impressive ... is he older than scholes?

Yes!

[Lazie]

55 - Number of times Xavi and Iniesta passed to Messi.


I saw Rockman mentioning how Barca pressed from Evra's side. I hope he isn't seeing that as Evra being the weak link. Remember, Barca's best player plays on that side, plus if Evra tracks Messi infield, Alves is always overlapping.

[Hortical]

Mi did feel sarry fi yuh side, totally outclassed & outplayed.

[Muadib]

38% possession against Barca is nothing to sneeze at !

[Lazie]

Mi did feel sarry fi yuh side, totally outclassed & outplayed.

No need to. I didn't feel sorry for them. Carelessness led to the 2nd and 3rd goals. Barca dominated possession against every team they play, so that was expected.

Unuh noticed Fergie's expression as the game closed in on the final whistle? That man is going to make it his aim to beat Barca.

[Paul Marin]

55 - Number of times Xavi and Iniesta passed to Messi.


I saw Rockman mentioning how Barca pressed from Evra's side. I hope he isn't seeing that as Evra being the weak link. Remember, Barca's best player plays on that side, plus if Evra tracks Messi infield, Alves is always overlapping.

As I said before, it is the understanding that these two (Iniesta and Xavi) have with each other *AND* Messi (not Villa and Pedro) that makes them so dangerous. They are stoppable though. I watched the game again and believe that stopping them requires man-marking on Iniesta and Xavi. Sounds old fashioned? Maybe, but it works when done right, so in that regard, Fletcher and Nani *may* have been better choices than Park and Giggs. Also, Hernandez showed that he is virtually useless as a defensive front man; he didn't contribute anything to pressuring them in their own half.

Truth be known I was expecting Maudib long mout' to blight Barca, but mi figet seh God is no devil (red or otherwise). Mi nah goh lie, mi did frighten unu was ago do damage in the first 10 minutes. Whew (wipe sweat). If you notice, that's when you put pressure on them in their own half, but admittedly, keeping that up for 90 minutes is a tall order especially with Hernandez up front.

It will be interesting to see how your team transforms for next season. Slurgie does best when he identifies an enemy for himself. He set out to depose Liverpool, marginalize Chelski and Arsenal and now he has his sights on Barca. Not one to "quit while he is ahead" he may be up against an impossible fight trying to get back to the finals next year, much less win it.

PM

[Lazie]

As I said before, it is the understanding that these two (Iniesta and Xavi) have with each other *AND* Messi (not Villa and Pedro) that makes them so dangerous. They are stoppable though. I watched the game again and believe that stopping them requires man-marking on Iniesta and Xavi. Sounds old fashioned? Maybe, but it works when done right, so in that regard, Fletcher and Nani *may* have been better choices than Park and Giggs. Also, Hernandez showed that he is virtually useless as a defensive front man; he didn't contribute anything to pressuring them in their own half.

Truth be known I was expecting Maudib long mout' to blight Barca, but mi figet seh God is no devil (red or otherwise). Mi nah goh lie, mi did frighten unu was ago do damage in the first 10 minutes. Whew (wipe sweat). If you notice, that's when you put pressure on them in their own half, but admittedly, keeping that up for 90 minutes is a tall order especially with Hernandez up front.

It will be interesting to see how your team transforms for next season. Slurgie does best when he identifies an enemy for himself. He set out to depose Liverpool, marginalize Chelski and Arsenal and now he has his sights on Barca. Not one to "quit while he is ahead" he may be up against an impossible fight trying to get back to the finals next year, much less win it.

PM

To be honest, I didn't have a problem with the team he started. It was after Messi scored and seeing how PArk gave up prior to the shot I was wondering if Flecther would have done a better job on that play.

This Barca midfield is AMAZING, so amazing that Busquet isn't even required to do what he is out there for. I was convinced that MU could have pulled off an upset ... but a suh.

[Paul Marin]

To be honest, I didn't have a problem with the team he started. It was after Messi scored and seeing how PArk gave up prior to the shot I was wondering if Flecther would have done a better job on that play.

This Barca midfield is AMAZING, so amazing that Busquet isn't even required to do what he is out there for. I was convinced that MU could have pulled off an upset ... but a suh.

Lazie, the problem that your team had (I think) is that they didn't realize that by having 5 in the middle, it was only going to work if you played total football. It was as if they believed that "oh well, we pack the midfield, dem cyan get thru dat"...almost like saying "the titanic is unsinkable". To beat Barca, you first have to neutralize Xavi (more so than Iniesta) - he is their quarterback; second, you have to play very physical and third, have to press them in their own half. Hernandez and Rooney let Barca waltz up the field - not good. Also, you get your goals from the wings...you won't get them up the middle. Valencia and or Nani (not Park) wide on the break to Rooney or Hernandez made sense to me, but Slurgie have di trophy dem, not me.

Anyway, it's nice to see football played like that, no matter who play it (as long as it's not Manu** or Real Madrid (your Spanish counterpart)).

[Karl]

They are stoppable though. I watched the game again and believe that stopping them requires man-marking on Iniesta and Xavi. Sounds old fashioned?


PM

Paul in light of your observations of the match...what do you think of my earliest words on TEAM as it relates to - man-marking being only achieved with the assistance of the man being marked or my exact words:

No one resides (sometimes I substituted "lives") in the mind of a player .

No defender knows if the player being marked is going to go 'right' or 'left' until the player is already going in the chosen direction. The defender when playing against an intelligent player is always 'late' as he responds to movement already commenced.

Those guys...and just about the entire Bacra team cannot be marked. The movement and passing is too sure and swift. The GUNNERS came nearest to providing real competition, yet the GUNNERS are like tortoise to Barcelona's hare.

*Not Real Madrid as Real provided "kick-down" tactics. Yup! Real won one game....but it was playing more "kick-dun" than football.

[Jangle]

I still don't believe that a changed side would have made much difference. When a team is as good as Barcelona, the opposing coach has no other option than to plan and approach the game from a defensive standpoint. That, in itself puts the team at a disadvantage which becomes a psychological baggage going into the game. Fergie approached the game with a counter-attacking game plan which failed after the first 10 mins. Throughout our squad, we do not have players of the calibre of Xavi or Iniesta in our midfield. So Fergie had to come up with a plan of how to contain them or the opposite, let them try to contain us. Barca/Pep did not have the burden of planning "how to contain ManU's midfield". His only concern was maybe Rooney and to a lesser extent, Valencia. He had that luxury. Going forward, this Barcelona team has another good year at the top before the laws of attrition sets in. Right now, the closest team to them is Real Madrid.....but then, Barca put 5 past them the other day....so...... ~sigh~.

[Muadib]

'long mout' ??

Ah nuh mout' play football...

Final score coulda been 6-1 and nuhbaddy coulda argue wid dat result...