Barcelona: They Came, They saw, They were Conquered...

When United drew Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals, people were expecting a mouth watering encounter without an abundance of goals.

However, on Tuesday night, it was a solitary strike from Paul Scholes that was enough to send United through on their way to Moscow. Such was the glory of the strike that Victor Valdes could only watch the ball sail into the net. It was a typical Scholes strike.

The match started off with Barcelona winning a free kick on the edge of the United penalty area in the 25th second.Barcelona were clearly the dominant force in the early proceedings. However, in typical United fashion, the Red Devils hit Barcelona on the break in the 13th minute and caused considerable pressure on Gianluca Zambrotta. As a result of his clearance, the ball fell to Paul Scholes,who on finding acres of space, blasted the ball with such power and precision that United fans could only drool at the beauty of the strike.

From then on, United enjoyed more of the possession and created several chances that should have converted into goals. Barcelona were riding on the excellence of Lionel Messi, who was mesmerising to say the least. His pace and ball control were a joy to watch. His shooting though was non present.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been United's 'Man friday' this season did not see much of the ball, however he did brilliantly with whatever possession he got. The striker role in absence of Rooney, was clearly not his favourite position.

Deco, who had the best shots on goal,should have got a goal. Nani was an average performer. However United's two centre-backs, Ferdinand and Brown were outstanding and the absence of Vidic was not felt.

Patrice Evra deserves a special mention as his attacking runs into the Barcelona half gave Zambrotta a real headache. Puyol was solid in defence whereas Milito was a bad performer.

The match saw Old Trafford being transformed into a sea of red with giant banners of 'Dare to Believe' in the crowds.The crowd was as loud as at the Camp Nou,if not louder. All in all, this match turned out to be the spectacle that it was billed to be even though it was marked by a lone goal.

Attacking football prevailed and counter attacks were many in number. Messi really dazzled with the ball and showed why he is counted amongst the world's top two players at the moment.

In the end, the deserving team won and United's horror run of the past few weeks ended in style. Sir Alex's team, even though marred by injuries, showed the class of champions.

If such football will be played, the final promises to be a spectacular one.