Manchester United must press against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley
With a final date set at Wembley, a replay of the 2009 Chamions League final will take place on 28th of May 2011 when Manchester United faces Barcelona in London in the UEFA Champions League final.
Over the past four years, United and Barcelona have dominated the proceedings in European football. Both teams have made it to three UEFA Champions League finals in the last four years.
The Catalan giants faced Ferguson’s men in the semifinal of the 2008 UEFA Champions League when Manchester United eventually proceeded onwards to win the competition following a victory over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 in the pen-ultimate match at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.
Barcelona then got their revenge when they defeated Manchester United in Rome in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final.
Since then both the teams have not faced each other in the Champions League as Barcelona were knocked out of last season’s Champions League following their aggregate loss to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan in the semifinal. Alternatively, Manchester United exited the tournament
in question at the quarter-final stage when Bayern Munich won on an aggregate score-line after losing, 3-2, at Old Trafford.
Barcelona will come to Wembley as favourites. Pep Guardiola’s men have already been termed by some as the best team in the world. Some have gone as far to suggest that there hasn’t been a better outfit in the history of football than the current Barcelona
crop.
On the other hand, critics have been out in full force against Manchester United. Domestically, United currently tops the English Premier League table but they haven’t been playing vintage football this season.
Ferguson’s men have been woeful on their travels in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 but they have been more than impressive in the UEFA Champions League.
Many pundits have already suggested that it would require something special from Manchester United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, to conquer this Barcelona side which humiliated Real Madrid in the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League.
With midfield generals like Xavi Hernandez and Andes Iniesta supported in attack by the guile and pace of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38605 are 2008’s Manchester United in effect, star studded and bursting with confidence.
However, a scientific approach is still missing from this equation. Barcelona’s ideology of tiki-taka football has yielded results in extra ordinary abundance regardless of whether it is applied at the international level with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 or in La Liga with
L'equip blaugrana.
Nonetheless, Arsene Wenger has given other teams a blue print which they can apply as per the situation against Barcelona. When Arsenal played against Barcelona at Camp Nou, Barcelona lost the game by two goals to one.
The most striking factor in Gunners’ triumph over Guardiola’s men was the way they pressed the men in red and blue. Barcelona was allowed to have the ball in their half of the field but Wenger’s boys showcased tremendous coordination as soon as their opponents
entered the Arsenal half of the field.
Pressing started from the midfield area which meant that even if Barcelona had majority of the possession, there was no space to play in the likes of Pedro Rodriguez and Lionel Messi, in behind the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Laurent-Koscielny-c21742 and Djourou.
As the match went on, Arsenal relied on the pace of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Walcott-c34873 to open things up on the counter attack as Wenger knew that his players had the advantage in that department due to the weekly turmoil of the English Premier League.
Sir Alex Ferguson can take a leaf out of his good friend’s book when Manchester United takes the field at Wembley.
In order to win against Barcelona, United must press them or submit in defeat. Guardiola’s men have shown susceptibility to such tactics against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey and before that against Arsenal at the Emirates.
If anything, United should replicate what has already been done given the magnitude of the task that awaits them at Wembley at the end of May 2011.
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