Barcelona 3, Manchester United 1: UEFA Champions League Final Instant Reaction

Before the game, my plan was to write a post-game review grading each player individually. After the spectacle we just witnessed, that would really be pointless.

In case you missed it, Barcelona absolutely bossed this game, putting up a trifecta behind beautiful strikes from Pedro, Messi, and David Villa. United equalized in the first half on a pretty goal from Wayne Rooney, who got the ball in the box from an offside Ryan Giggs. Barca could have had another 3-4 goals with a bit of luck. 

As I started trying to grade the individual players, I realized that pretty much everyone on Barcelona would get close to a 10. Messi would get a 20 if possible. For Man U, Wayne Rooney was the only one who really brought it today. Vidic and Ferdinand would receive passing grades while everyone else would get an incomplete at best. 

Instead, I want to revisit this article, which I published yesterday. In that article I debated how the 2010-11 version of the Blaugrana compare to the 2008-09 triple-champions. I'm only going to gloat for a second over my correct prediction of today's final result. The bigger point I made there was that with a great performance at Wembley, this side could match the '08-'09 side in terms of overall greatness.

Indeed, that is exactly what happened today. Barca played considerably better today than it did in the '09 final, even though the margin of victory was the same. Although this year's side will surely be missing the Copa del Rey trophy that they brought home two years ago, what people will remember at the end will be the 5-0 thrashing of Real Mardid in November and the triumph at Wembley.

Not only has this team equaled its predecessor, but the Barcelona dynasty now has a true claim to being one of the greatest club sides of all time.