New Delhi: There wasn't a team Manchester United could have fielded in Saturday's Champions League final to make a difference against a classy Barcelona side that just eventually thrashed them 3-1 at Wembley.
The holes in United's midfield allowed acres of space for maestros Messi and Xavi to exploit the gaps and make United look like sitting ducks.
United's midfield had no clue what was happening on the park. Carrick, Park and Giggs allowed too much space in front of their defence and were punished for it by three Barcelona strikes.
Such was the class of the Catalans that in all ninety minutes Red Devils failed to register even a single corner kick and rarely threatened Victor Valdes' goal, apart from Rooney's sublime first-half equaliser.
United's left-back Patrice Evra was responsible for two of the Barcelona's goal as he was out of position for the opening goal that Pedro slotted home and allowed Messi acres of space to put Barca 2-1 in front. Antonio Valencia had the worst outing among all the Red Devils, virtually anonymous for long periods.
Giggs was ineffective, Carrick was neutral as ever and Ferdinand also appeared somewhat vacant.
In hindsight, against a team of such quality and skill, there was no disgrace in defeat for Manchester United. Though no team is unbeatable, Barcelona made a decent impression to the contrary.
Yet, it's fair to say that United did not help themselves. The foremost charge that must be levelled against them is that Sir Alex Ferguson's selection invested too much confidence in his team and paid too little regard to their opponents.
After all the talks of United having two weeks on the training ground to fine-tune their preparations and design a strategy to stop Barcelona, the reality was that United were set up exactly as their opponents wished and had no Plan B ready.
United were clearly out-numbered in midfield and without an anchor to negate Lionel Messi, they simply invited domination and got opened up by their tactical blunder. And the result was a foregone conclusion.
If matches are won and lost in the midfield, then why did Sir Alex decide to reduce the midfielders from three to two when it was already depleted with a relatively-immobile Michael Carrick and an ageing Ryan Giggs.
To stop Barcelona, energy and numbers in midfield are essential. United had neither of those and the result was a mauling: 68 per cent possession to United's 32.
Another statement testifying the greatness of this Barcelona team is the delivery of their best in the big matches. It must be the ultimate satisfaction for Guardiola that his team's three most resounding results have been recorded in their three high-profile engagements of the season - at home to Madrid in November, in the first leg of the CL semi-final at the Bernabeu last month and now at Wembley in the Saturday's showpiece.
And for Manchester United, it's high time they need men in the middle of the park to win things for them. With Paul Scholes already semi-retired, Carrick good but not good enough and Giggs trying to prolong the twilight time, United need at least two new midfielders, perhaps three, if they have to continue their domination in England and remain a force to reckon with in Europe.
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