VICTOR VALDES: Recovered well after spilling Cristiano Ronaldo's early free-kick, Valdes was always alert and made a brave close-range save from the same player at 2-0 up. 7/10 CARLES PUYOL: Calm, strong leadership from the veteran who should have well-deserved a goal but headed straight at Edwin van der Sar. 8 YAYA TOURE: Will have been shocked by the lack of hard work he was presented with, he nevertheless knuckled down and did the necessary. 7 GERARD PIQUE: Showed great awareness after only a minute and a half to block Ji-Sung Park's follow-up shot from Ronaldo's free-kick. Solid throughout. 7 SYLVINHO: Less influential towards the end but the Brazilian was a big influence in the first hour, providing plenty of dangerous overlaps and a constant outlet on the left flank. 8 XAVI: Superior performance from the cultured midfielder. Always excellent in possession, he curled a free-kick against the post and picked out Lionel Messi with an exquisite cross for the second. 9 SERGIO BUSQUETS: Unfussy and unflappable, made plenty of tackles and laid off possession astutely. 7 ANDRES INIESTA: Showed great close control, a wide range of passing and ensured the Premier League champions could barely get a look in in midfield. Always on hand in defence and attack. 9 LIONEL MESSI: Oozed stature throughout, he will draw satisfaction from outperforming Ronaldo and, after a dazzling run on the stroke of half-time was well worth his second-half goal. 8 SAMUEL ETO'O: The Cameroon forward fully deserves the plaudits for putting paid to United's promising start with a wonderfully-taken goal after 10 minutes. Not at his best from then on but still a match-winning contribution. 7 THIERRY HENRY: Delighted to get one over on his old adversaries, was just denied by Van der Sar after some fine close control in the box. 7 Substitutes: SEYDOU KEITA (for Henry, 71 mins): A leggy United already looked beaten by the time Keita arrived on the scene. 6 RODRIGUEZ PEDRITO (for Iniesta, 90 mins): Only time to celebrate. 5
EDWIN VAN DER SAR: Made some important stops and saves, not least from Henry and Puyol, but will be unhappy to be well beaten by Eto'o at his near post. 7 JOHN O'SHEA: A solid outing from the Irishman who held firm and could not be blamed for either goal. 6 RIO FERDINAND: Struggled with his distribution in the first period and never once looked on top of Barca's free-flowing forward line. 5 NEMANJA VIDIC: The Red Devils' player of the season avoided humiliation against an attacking trio who have shredded lesser defenders but, like his partner, made little impact. 6 PATRICE EVRA: Appeared redundant at times as his supposed task of keeping Messi quiet was rendered moot by the forward's constant drifting into central positions. AWOL going forward. 5 ANDERSON: Started well but faded to anonymity after Barca's opener and paid the price for his side's lethargy when he was replaced at half-time. 5 MICHAEL CARRICK: Symptomatic of United's general malaise in the middle of the park, Carrick failed to find his runners and had no answer to a superb opposition midfield. 5 RYAN GIGGS: Not one of the Welshman's most distinguished displays but he was cooler in possession than most of his teammates despite tiring. 6 PARK JI-SUNG: Park has a reputation as a big-game player but there were no magic moments from the South Korean despite bags of energy and a couple of near misses. 6 CRISTIANO RONALDO: The mercurial Portuguese looked set to have one of his special nights when he went close in only the second minute, but despite his constant energy he was bested almost every time when it mattered. 6 WAYNE ROONEY: Looked unhappy to be out on a limb instead of his favoured central position and spent 90 minutes trying - and conspicuously failing - to get involved. 5 Substitutes: CARLOS TEVEZ (on for Anderson, 45 mins): Anticipation from United's fans was tangible when the Argentina striker was sent on for the second period but it was an uninspired shift. 5 DIMITAR BERBATOV (for Park, 66 mins): Typically laconic cameo with little or no end product. 5 PAUL SCHOLES: (for Giggs, 75 mins): Handed a thankless task for the final quarter of an hour he merely succeeded in earning a booking for a trademark foul. 5
* PA Sport
