Barcelona outclassed Manchester United last night by beating them 2 – 0 in the UEFA Champions League final played in Rome, Italy.

Goals from star forwards Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans a deserved victory and denied United from becoming the first team to retain the title since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1993.

It gave the Spaniards a unique treble having already won their domestic league and cup and meant they repeated a feat United achieved in 1999, which Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson had then claimed would never be matched.

It crowned a marvellous debut season for his Barcelona counterpart Pep Guardiola, who at 38 becomes the youngest coach to take European club football’s greatest prize.

For Thierry Henry it ended years of frustration especially when his then team Arsenal lost to Barcelona in the 2006 final.

“Finally I have won it! I have been waiting for so long for this moment,” said the France great, whose daughter celebrated her birthday as well on Wednesday.

“The last five minutes were the longest of my life. Even if we were 2-0 up we were playing the best team in the world (referring to the world club championship title United won earlier this year).”

Barca overcame early jitters to dominate large parts of the game as the English club never managed to get their usual high tempo game into gear.

In a clash billed as the match of the century pitting the best two teams in the world – with each one boasting one of the best two players in the world – only one played to their full potential.

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Manchester United swept past Arsenal last night in the second leg of the Champions League semi final. They won 3 – 1 at the Emirates stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson‘s side arrived at the Emirates Stadium holding only a slender 1-0 lead from last week’s first leg, but United scored twice in the first 11 minutes to set up a 4-1 aggregate triumph that booked their place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona, who meet in their decider on Wednesday.

United, who beat Chelsea in last year’s final, were given a helping hand from Arsenal as South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung punished an embarrassing slip from Kieran Gibbs to open the scoring.

Cristiano Ronaldo then deceived Manuel Almunia with a long-range free-kick, and the Portuguese striker put the result beyond doubt when he added his second goal after half time.

Arsenal barely tested United keeper Edwin van der Sar until Robin van Persie converted a late penalty after Darren Fletcher was sent off, ruling him out of the final, for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.

Even that couldn’t detract from a fantastic display from United, who are the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997.

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Chelsea warmed up for their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona next week with a comfortable 3-1 win over Fulham.

Goals from Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba ensured Chelsea also kept the heat on second-placed Liverpool in the Premier League.

Guus Hiddink‘s side dented Fulham’s own hopes of European football next season as West Ham and Manchester City both moved above the Cottagers in the race for seventh place.

The contest began in dramatic fashion with three goals inside the first 10 minutes.

The Blues opened the scoring inside 50 seconds.

Malouda and Anelka combined down the left before Malouda’s cross was stabbed into the path of Anelka by Drogba.

The France international finished from the edge of the six-yard box.

But Fulham hit back immediately and were level in the fifth minute.

Norwegian striker Erik Nevland scored his second goal in as many games when he ran to a great pass by Danny Murphy to beat Petr Cech with a fierce angled drive.

Two minutes later Frank Lampard was narrowly wide with a clever chip shot as Chelsea looked to restore their advantage.

But the home side were back in front in the 10th minute when Anelka fed Drogba inside the penalty area and his low cross was lashed into the net by Florent Malouda.

But Fulham were still dangerous on the counter and Nevland smashed an 18-yard volley just over the bar in the 14th minute.

Moments later a cross from Paul Konchesky found the head of Bobby Zamora but the Fulham striker’s effort was just wide of Cech’s right-hand upright.

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The Champion’s League draw took place last night and the Groups were divided as follow:

Group A

Chelsea

Roma

Bordeaux

CFR Cluj

Group B

Inter Milan

Werder Bremen

Panathinaikos

Anorthosis Famagusta

Group C

Barcelona

Sporting Lisbon

Basel

Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D

Liverpool

PSV Eindhoven

Marseille

Atletico Madrid

Group E

Manchester United

Villarreal

Celtic

Aalborg

Group F

Lyon

Bayern Munich

Steaua Bucharest

Fiorentina

Group G

Arsenal

FC Porto

Fenerbahce

Dynamo Kiev

Group H

Real Madrid

Juventus

Zenit St Petersburg

Bate Borisov

“Pipo” Inzaghi sent AC Milan through to the next round of the champion’s league after beating Celtic on Wednesday night. Celtic rode their luck to qualify in second spot thanks to an unfancied away win for Benfica at Shakhtar Donetsk.

In a match that might not be remembered for its display of breath taking football, Fillipo Inzaghi struck from a close range effort after some magical interplay between Brazilians Kaka and Cafu . The Italian etched his name into the record book with that goal taking his personal European tally to 63, Making Inzaghi the all time leading goal scorer in all European competitions.

The Home win was a big positive for European giants Milan who have failed to record a league win in the San Siro. It was not plain sailing for the Italians however as Celtic put up a Fight typical of the Scottish champions reputation. In a surprise move Celtic coach Gordon Strachan relegated powerful Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to the bench. With Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti Replacing his controversial keeper Dida with Zeljko Kalac.

Celtic Looked jittery in the opening stages of the match and made unforced errors which Milan failed to capitalize on the first being an early free kick which Clarence Seedorf could only slam into the wall on 15 minutes. Kaka served notice as to why he is Front runner for the world player of the year award when he narrowly missed the outside of the post on 25 minutes.

In a quiet match where scoring opportunities were a rarity It took Milan 70 minutes to score the decisive Goal and the Italian spoke of his joy at beating the record previously held by Gerd Mueller saying “It was a strange feeling, like inner peace,”

Milan could well have doubled their lead but for Celtic Keeper Artur Boruc making excellent saves to deny Christian Brocchi and Inzaghi. Kaka also threatened to add to his remarkable European tally but was denied thanks to a goal line clearance in optional time.

Both sets of fans greeted the final whistle with cheers, knowing the next round of Europe’s top competition beckons