Champions League - The Final: Player Ratings

Eurosport - Thu, 28 May 12:06:00 2009

We rate the Manchester United and Barcelona players in the Champions League final.

FOOTBALL Andrés Iniesta / Foto EFE - 0

MANCHESTER UNITED

Goalkeeper

1-EDWIN VAN DER SAR (6) Spilled a low cross from Messi but had little chance with either goal.

Defenders

22-JOHN O'SHEA (6) Shackled Thierry Henry in the opening half but left a huge goal which the Frenchman almost exploited shortly after the break.

5-RIO FERDINAND (5) Troubled by injuries recently and nowhere near his best. Not even close to Lionel Messi for the second goal.

15-NEMANJA VIDIC (5) Named Barclays player of the year earlier in the day but was culpable for the first goal with a weak challenge.

3-PATRICE EVRA (5) His aimless clearance allowed Xavi to pick out Messi for the second goal.

Midfielders

16-MICHAEL CARRICK (5) His passing was not even close to its usual standard. Failed to pick out Wayne Rooney in the second-half when he was clear.

11-RYAN GIGGS (6) Did his best to support Cristiano Ronaldo early on but then was switched to the left flank before being moved centrally to help Carrick.

13-PARK JI-SUNG (7) He worked tirelessly against Barcelona captain Carles Puyol and almost opened the scoring early on.

8-ANDERSON (4) Replaced at half-time after an ineffective 45 minutes. Andres Iniesta got past him too easily for the opening goal.

Forwards

10-WAYNE ROONEY (5) Struggled to get in the game on the left wing and was left frustrated throughout by poor service.

7-CRISTIANO RONALDO (6) The World and European Player of the Year had six efforts on goal but became increasingly frustrated in the second-half.

Subs

32-CARLOS TEVEZ (5) Came on at half-time but was another who did not receive quality service. Could be his last match for the club.

9-DIMITAR BERBATOV (5) His languid style has not always impressed United's fans and spurned a decent chance late on to give his side a glimmer.

18-PAUL SCHOLES (5) Most significant impact was a trademark scything challenge on Sergio Busquets that earned him a yellow card.

BARCELONA

Goalkeeper

1-VICTOR VALDES (6) Spilled an early Ronaldo effort but was alert to come off his line and clear danger.

Defenders

5-CARLES PUYOL (7) The shaggy-haired captain is loved by the fans for his passion and commitment. Twice came close to scoring a third.

24-YAYA TOURE (7) Drafted into central defence following the injury to Rafael Marquez and, a wild hack at a Ronaldo cross apart, was solid.

3-GERARD PIQUE (8) Spent three years at Manchester United and produced an assured performances in central defence. Two key blocks.

16-SILVINHO (7) The former Arsenal man was dependable throughout as Barca didn't miss the suspended Eric Abidal one jot.

Midfielders

28-SERGI BUSQUETS (7) Played effectively as a third central defender for much of the second-half. Did his job and let others play.

6-XAVI (8) The creative fulcrum of most of Barca's attacking play and was so close to scoring when he struck the woodwork with a free-kick.

8-ANDRES INIESTA (10) A sublime performance from the diminutive Iniesta. A constant threat with his running at pace and subtle passing.

Forwards

10-LIONEL MESSI (9) Almost as irresistible as Iniesta. Barca's top scorer in Europe, he made it nine goals with a header any old fashioned centre forward would have been proud of.

9-SAMUEL ETO'O (8) A darting run for the opening goal, his electric pace made Vidic look pedestrian.

14-THIERRY HENRY (8) Only just recovered from a knee injury in time for the final, turned Ferdinand inside out early in the second-half only for Van der Sar to deny him.

Subs

15-SEYDOU KEITA (6) Replaced Henry for the last 20 minutes and added some extra bite to midfield.

27-PEDRO RODRIGUEZ (6) Injury-time sub

Lee Walker / Eurosport

Comment 297 - 316 of 336

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  1. On last nights performance not one of the Man U players­ would get into the Barca team including Ronaldo. Thats­ why Man U lost as easy as that.

    From Stephen V, on Thu 28 May 12:39PM

  2. im obviousely a ronaldo hater but i had to give him­ some credit at the end of the game yesterday when he­ was the only man who could look in the eyes of the­ barca players and shake their hands along with sir alex­ ferguson aswell it showed he is a changing man and is­ prepared to look his opponents in the eye and say well­ played. well done to him he didnt play to bad yesterday­ aswell but u could see the jelousey in sir alex's­ eyes when the barca players started celebrating. well­ done barcelona for a terrific display!

    From smiley123, on Thu 28 May 12:29PM

  3. Carrick was found to be a slouch against xavi, iniesta­ and messi. No pace. No character. No brain. They say­ Billy Bremner was 5" 4' of barbed wire.­ Carrick is 6ft+ of sawdust.

    From kalvinderc, on Thu 28 May 12:29PM
  4. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    what weight should all liverpool supporters be?
    About­ 3 pounds - and that is including the urn.

    From Joseph, on Thu 28 May 12:27PM

  5. tom you numb nuts, depends how you spell it doesn't­ it?
    being so good at counting, why don't you count­ the number of premier league titles you have. Remember,­ to start at 0.
    And what does YNWA stand for?­ You'll Never Win Anything? You'll Never Wash­ Alone?
    ohhh...soryy You'll Never Walk Alone. Quite­ approiate for liverpool to have that song - ther is­ allways some scouse following you, trying to nick your­ shoes.

    From Joseph, on Thu 28 May 12:23PM

  6. that rating is great for a game like this especially­ for the astounding performance put up by the catalans.­ I am happy for em and i think its great for a spanish­ club to lift the trophy.Messi is in no doubt going for­ the world best and european best player award. How aba­ the master playmakers; Iniesta and Xavi. they deserve a­ great applause and hand shake. Talk aba Eto'o and i­ will pat him at the back. Kudos barca! we are the­ catalans

    From Arnold, on Thu 28 May 12:22PM

  7. I wonder what makes Sir Alex and all Woman Utd­ supporters world wide believe they could stand against­ my Barca.Sorry we all know better.If I have to choice­ my team again and again It MUST be Barca.Sixteen year­ full support from Nigeria is worth it.
    I am over­ joyed.That is was you get when you play simple­ football.

    From uchennaogbozor, on Thu 28 May 12:20PM

  8. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM LOVIN IT!!!!

    From Chris W, on Thu 28 May 12:13PM

  9. Happy, happy day! Man Ure from Scum Park finally shown­ for what they are worth......not a­ lot!!
    Ronaldo....what a @#$%! Best player in the world?­ You must be joking! He's not fit to tie Messi's­ or Iniesta's boots.
    All football fans are rejoicing­ today because last night football won.......not the­ bunch of arrogant yobs who THINK they are better than­ everybody but honest, hardworking players with an­ obvious love of the game & not just the money!
    Oh,­ btw, jjred20, learn to count......outsmarted is 1­ word.....not 2! Just like all Man Ure fans....can't­ count!!
    And 1 last thing....Man Ure for all their­ shouting have only equalised with­ Liverpool.....something they couldn't do earlier­ this season!!
    Come on the Mighty Pool....YNWA!

    From TomH, on Thu 28 May 12:11PM

  10. I always thought that Barca was way better than Man u­ and last night they showed it.
    The messi goel was fab­ for a short guy like him.
    Well done Barca, u made us­ Man u haters proud. Not that i don't like­ them

    obilicash,The only Reason Liverpool can beat­ Barca is because half the team is spanish so they­ understand what they r saying

    niall_o_malley I am a­ big time Arsenal fan and just coz they choose to play a­ young team doesn't mean they r bad, wait for two­ more years and we will see who is on top
    Arsenal 4 life

    From swtangel, on Thu 28 May 12:10PM

  11. Once again Ronaldo has demonstrated just waht a jerk he­ is. This guy has the moral fiber of a two bit crook.­ Pathetic

    From Anna, on Thu 28 May 12:04PM

  12. Im a chelsea supporter....and Last night showed us how­ brilliant Chelsea were in the semis ... BLUE TILL I DIE­ AND CONGRATS BARCA... you have amazing quality in­ iniesta xavi and messi and against the self-proclaimed­ super-stars they showed their brilliance ... oh godd­ you raped them literally hahahahahha... it was a relief­ when barca lifted the trophy atleast we all can say­ easily that the best team won ... plus when ronaldo got­ booked the look on his face was priceless ... but dont­ worry next year we ll be back ... and this time even if­ the referee is mr platini himself we ll beat barca and­ show the world .... WE ARE THE CHAMPSS and btw barca­ didnt have any of the usual staring 4 defender except­ pique last night ... still CR7 the so called BEST IN­ THE WORLD didnt score ....­ aaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww baby­ ahhahahahahahha ...FU*K CR7 and F*CK fergieeee

    From salik.mansoor, on Thu 28 May 11:55AM

  13. I am a United fan, but last night Barca showed that­ they are the best team in the world. Ronaldo said that­ Barca were fortunate to be there because Chelsea should­ have won. But thats the thing its on the night the 90­ mins Barca were the best over the 90. They bossed­ United in midfield, after the first 9 mins. Messi­ showed why he is rega\rded as the best player in­ the world, his attitude is 1st class when you compare­ him to Ronaldo, the way he reacts to fouls is­ completely different than that of Ronaldo. He just gets­ up and plays on. Iniesta never stopped running last­ night he played brilliantly holding possession and­ being creative. Fair play to Barca, Hard luck to­ United..

    From Bob K, on Thu 28 May 11:49AM

  14. Fergie to blame, playing Rooney out of position, didnt­ start with a proper striker, Anderson who?? Carrick­ who?? sort the midfield out Fergie!! FFS Man utd on­ there day would of destroyed Barca fact, just wasnt to­ be!! mutual fan!

    From Richard, on Thu 28 May 11:42AM

  15. when are the english clubs going to realise that the­ height of a player isn't important - the skill­ level, guile, change of pace, positive thinking, are­ much more important traits for a footballer to have.­ well done iniesta, xavi and messi (oh haven't the­ english clubs watched the 94 world cup? bebeto and­ romario were the front line for the winning team!!)

    From kalvinderc, on Thu 28 May 11:40AM

  16. hi

    From Karen, on Thu 28 May 11:39AM

  17. TYPICALLY RONALDO IS THE ONLY ONE TO BLAME IT ON BAD­­ LUCK THAT CHELSEA WERENT THERE, AND ON THE TACTICS­ I.E.­ SAF GOT IT WRONG. NO MENTION OF THE FACT THAT HE­­ HIMSELF WAS RUBBISH ON THE NIGHT, AND WAS DISHING OUT­­ THE ELBOWS AS USUAL, AND SHOUTING FOR FREE KICKS AS­­ USUAL. MAN U SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RELY ON A DIVER WHO­ CAN­ ONLY SCORE IF EVERYBODY ELSE IS MADE TO STAND 10­ YARDS­ AWAY.

    From xxxdjmxxx, on Thu 28 May 11:38AM

  18. Ferguson was fuming, Ronaldo lost his cool and got­ booked (hehehe), Man U's defence which was supposed­ to be difficult to get past especially if you try to go­ through them, looked naieve. They lacked midfield­ presence. For all Fergusons's tactical shrewdness­ and experience, Gaurdirolas style of simple but elegant­ football won in the end - a triumph for football lovers­ everywhere. As soon as Berbatov came on, I thought­ 'Brilliant, now Barca will win'. Berbatov,­ Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez all together - but where the­ heck is the ball winner in the middle ? Tacticall­ brilliance from Ferguson - hand the game to Barca.
    Well­ Mr Sir Alex - wassup ?! Could'nt complain about the­ pitch conditions, could'nt complain about the­ refereeing.
    Could'nt even be GENUINELY magnanimous.­ Go and lick your wounds, think about the sentiment­ 'Going to set a record of back to back wins' -­ HA.
    I hope Ronaldo jumps ship. Tevez moves on to where­ he will be appreciated for his phenominal work rate and­ skill, Giggs retires, Scholes retires (ever pathetic in­ an England shirt) and Ferguson: that old school­ 'you naughty boy' teacher mentality gives it­ up. Remember, Man U should never have won the final­ last year - Chelsea were all over them for the most­ part and played the more attacking football hitting the­ woodwork umpteen times.
    Viva Barca, y gracias -­ Championes.
    Merci pour votre service a Arsenal Henry,­ vouz ete dans ma coeur, Pied magic.

    From Robert, on Thu 28 May 11:30AM

  19. THIS CHELSEA VC LIVERPOOL EVERY SEASON MUST STOP !!!

    From obilicash, on Thu 28 May 11:20AM

  20. xile2K5....again.....( I admire your never say die­ attitude....Liverpool could have done with it against­ Hull this season)......
    i find your fascination with­ 20 year old males interesting....firstly your picture­ of torres....then you assumed i was......you got­ something to share with the group, vile.....sorry xile?

    From Joseph, on Thu 28 May 11:11AM
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