Thursday, 26th May, 2011
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta believes that the Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday will be a much different affair to two years ago.
In 2009, Barcelona met Manchester United in the final in Rome, and emerged with a comfortable 2-0 victory. A similar result would be unsurprising this year, with the Blaugrana fancied as clear favourites, especially with United lacking Cristiano Ronaldo, a key man in their 2009 side.
But Iniesta does not believe that anything is cut and dried and places the pattern of the 2009 final down to an early Samuel Eto’o goal.
"Manchester came out strong than us, but we had more control after the goal", said Iniesta.
And asked whether the 2009 final can compare, the Spanish midfielder was quite clear: "It’s not comparable, it’s similar because of the styles and it’s a final of course, but I don’t think there’s anything else."
Iniesta also believes that United would benefit from having kept hold of Ronaldo, though he still thinks Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are formidable opponents.
"It’s always better to have a player like him, but they have brought in other players and they have a great team."
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