It certainly should have been a rematch of last year’s Champions League final. Instead, Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo decided it would be a rematch of one of last year’s semifinal clash between Manchester United and FC Barcelona.

Manchester United progressed to the Champions League final in Rome after convincingly beating Arsenal 4-1 on aggregate. The Red Devils had to wait 24 hours after triumphing at the Emirates to know who will be their opponents come May 27 at the Stadio Olimpico. And with all the controversy one could ever think of, it was revealed to be Pep Guardiola’s Catalan Giants Barcelona FC, after the Blaugrana controversially ousted Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona clashing against Manchester United in the final of the UEFA Champions League was something that everyone was dreaming about.

This clash will see Cristiano Ronaldo coming up against Lionel Messi and experienced manager Sir Alex Ferguson against debutant Pep Guardiola in his first year as coach of a senior side.

How Manchester United reached the final of Champions League.

A goalless draw against Spanish side Villareal in front of their own fans was all Manchester United could manage when they started the defense of their UEFA Champions League title.

With only 10 points from a possible 18 – as a result of 4 draws and only 2 wins in the group stage – Manchester United knew they had done just enough to claim the top spot in their table as they progressed to the next round of the competition. Alex Ferguson was well aware that there was room for a lot of improvement and his side came up strong just when it was really needed.

Manchester United overcame the curse that had struck every other Champions League titleholders since 2006 – the miserable fate of failing to reach the quarter-finals as defending champions. Manchester United saw out Inter Milan in the last 16 of the tournament with a 2-0 home and aggregate victory in the return leg.

read the rest of this article on the live Manchester United vs Barcelona match page.