Originally Posted by BBC Sport/Sky Sports

UEFA Champions League Champions 2009: Barcelona


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Manchester United failed to retain their UEFA Champions League crown as Barcelona claimed Europe's top club prize with a 2-0 win in Rome's Stadio Olimpico.

United started the final brightly but were stunned on ten minutes when Samuel Eto'o skipped into the box and poked the ball past Edwin van der Sar.

Barca almost doubled their lead just after the break when Xavi smashed his free-kick of van der Sar's post - but the Catalan giants did not have long to wait for their second.

Brilliant work from Xavi on the right some him pick out Lionel Messi with a sublime cross and the Argentine superstar rose unmarked to head home from eight-yards - his first ever goal against English opposition.

The defending champions were left shell-shocked as Barca played out time in the Eternal City and sealed their third European title.

The shape of the contest might have been so different had Park Ji-sung been

able to snaffle the rebound after Victor Valdes had failed to hold a stinging Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick. Instead, former United man Gerard Pique shot across to block what proved to be his old club's best opportunity of that opening period.

Like his team, Ronaldo was clearly in the ascendancy in his personal duel with Messi.