[QUOTE="msudude211"][QUOTE="horgen123"][QUOTE="iliastse"]A couple of some very good friends have been banned, such as vednor and serbsta. As an old Greek phrase says : "The good lad knows a different path", so I've managed to keep a very good contact with them :)horgen123

You may all know him as Ron too :) A very cool guy, he runs his own place now (spoke enough in order not to get suspended... I hope :P )

I'll take things from the end :

The referee has just blown the final whistle. Seconds later my cell phone rings, it was my old man Robert from Liverpool. Prior to the game he was so nervous, because he didn't want to see Paisley's record getting equalized, neither seeing ManUtd winning CL by any means. His first words ? "Ilias... There is God" ... Tiny detail, Robert doesn't do religion (his only words about religion since I met him about 4 years ago). "You **** old man, you 're a believer now HAH " were my exact words

Now to the match. ManUtd... correction... Ronaldo started the match better than anyone else, he had that good early free kick getting parried, then he tried a couple of shots from long distance that went off target. And just when everythinhg showed that the Reds were taking the game into their hands, Barca makes a semi-counter attack, Eto'o sends Vidic for breakfast (Vidic is still searching on which way to go) and 1-0, end of the match. The goal was important but not critical for the fate of the match.

But Ferguson didn't know what to do... Come out and play and make space for Barca or play it tight in the midfield and have patience in their game ? Well they selected option number 2, and that's why they had ball possession until 30' without missing any serious chance though. After 30' Barca got ball possession again but they were so careful on their passes, they didn't want to risk their goal advantage. And so the 1st half ended.

There must have been some talking in the dressing rooms, because Barca completely crushed ManUtd in the 1st 10mins of the 2nd half And honestly I expected to see ManUtd trying to gear up the pressure in the 2nd half.But Guardiola's guys simply dominated the 2nd half, 2-0 was a matter of time. ManUtd's only serious chance w2as just after Messi's header, with Giggs' shot getting blocked and Valdez beating Ronaldo. And of course, ManUtd showed their nasty face in the end, going hard on Barca players with their hard, sometimes unprofessional tackles. Needless to say, Ronaldo provided another unforgettable display for me

I really can't find a Barca player that didn't play well. Xavi and Iniesta were simply superb, while Puyol played way better than D.Alves had played in the recent matches. To my eyes, it was like watching Spain in Euro 2008, in a bit more improved version.

The way I see it, ManUtd didn't face a single serious Champions League team on the way to Rome (sorry Arsenal fans), while Barca had to sweat big time against Chelsea, who had already been sweating in the quarters against Liverpool. Football justice (if there is one) has been served.

The Champions League curse is still alive...