Messi leads Barcelona to Champions crown

Times wires
Saturday, May 28, 2011

WEMBLEY, England — The debate is over: Barcelona is on the list of soccer's greatest teams.

Led by another dominant performance from Lionel Messi, Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday to earn its third European Champions League title in six seasons and No. 4 overall.

"You always want to win, but the way we have won is what I am most proud of," coach Pep Guardiola said. "This is the way we want to play football. Lionel is the best player I have seen and probably the best I will ever see."

Messi put Barcelona ahead to stay with his 53rd goal of the season and helped create another score to give the Spanish league champion breathing room on United, owned by the Glazer family, which also owns the Bucs.

Barcelona dominated play with its trademark one-touch passing, but it needed the Argentine striker to conjure a 54th-minute solo strike from the edge of the penalty area to take the lead for the second time at 2-1.

There seemed to be no space as Messi was tracked by fullback Patrice Evra. But the two-time world player of the year spotted a gap between the defenders and shot down the middle, beating goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

"They do mesmerize you with their passing, and we never really did control Messi," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "But many people have said that."

FC Tampa Bay draws

Jeff Attinella had eight saves to post his second straight shutout and FC Tampa Bay picked up a point after a scoreless tie with host Minnesota in Blaine on Saturday night.

Attinella made a big save in the 60th minute when he stopped Andrei Gotsmanov.

Tampa Bay (2-2-4, 10 points) had its chances in the second half, but Stars goalkeeper Joe Warren stopped forward Warren Ukah after a breakaway and forward Tsuyoshi Yoshitake hit the crossbar.

"We had opportunities again to get ourselves ahead in the match, but we were not able to convert," coach Ricky Hill told the team website. "But I was delighted with Jeff's performance."

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/soccer/messi-leads-barcelona-to-champions-crown/1172498

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