New Delhi: The Champions League final at Wembley on May 28 will be a rematch of Rome two years ago, when Barcelona beat Manchester United, 2-0. Barcelona took the hard road via an embittered semifinal against Real Madrid. Here's how they got there.
Barcelona 5 Panathinaikos 1, September 14
Barcelona fell behind to Sidney Govou's goal before hitting back to start their Group D campaign with an emphatic victory. Lionel Messi scored twice and David Villa made it 3-1 before the break. Pedro and Dani Alves added gloss to the result in the second half.
Rubin Kazan 1 Barcelona 1, September 29
The Russians thwarted Barca again. Having taken four points off Pep Guardiola's men in last year's competition, Rubin threatened another shock when they led at half-time through Christian Noboa's penalty. The Catalan giants equalised after the break with a penalty from David Villa.
Barcelona 2 FC Copenhagen 0, October 20
Barca toiled to overcome a hardworking Copenhagen side, who set their stall out to defend. Messi opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a fierce shot from 20 yards. The home side frustrated their fans with their inability to score the second goal - two efforts were disallowed and the woodwork was struck twice - before Messi bundled in Eric Abidal's miscued shot at the end.
FC Copenhagen 1 Barcelona 1, November 2
Guardiola's men thought they were on the way to guaranteeing qualification for the next round when Messi scored in the first half, but they were pegged back 60 seconds later by a deflected volley from Claudemir. The match ended 1-1.
Panathinaikos 0 Barcelona 3, November 24
In a game they dominated, it took Barcelona until midway through the first half to break the deadlock, when Pedro slipped home from close range. The second half saw them extend their lead through Messi and Pedro, following typical intricate passing.
Barcelona 2 Rubin Kazan 0, December 7
Guardiola had the luxury of fielding a B team, with only two first team regulars in the side. The youngsters took to the job well, though, Andreu Fontas and Victor Vazquez scoring second-half goals to deny Rubin a place in the last 16 and seal Barca's place as group winners.
Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1, February 16
Barca dominated the first leg of their last 16 double-header in north London but somehow came away the losing side. Villa opened the scoring and Barcelona wasted a host of chances to extend their lead before Robin van Persie beat Victor Valdes at his near post and Andrey Arshavin swept home the winning goal to make it 2-1.
Barcelona 3 Arsenal 1, March 8
Barca were simply too good for the visitors in the return, although they had some good fortune. Messi dinked the ball over Manuel Almunia before smashing it home to give the home side the lead, but an own goal from Sergio Busquets saw Arsenal in control again until a harsh red card for Van Persie altered things. Goals from Xavi and Messi, from the penalty spot, wrapped up a 3-1 win on the night and 4-3 aggregate success.
Barcelona 5 Shakhtar Donetsk 1, April 6
Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Seydou Keita and Xavi were on the mark as Barcelona blew their opponents away with a fantastic display. Shakhtar's sole reply came from Yaroslav Rakitskiy when the Ukrainian side were already 3-0 down.
Shakhtar Donetsk 0 Barcelona 1, April 12
Barca weathered an early storm at the Donbass Arena before netting what would prove to be the only goal of the night through Messi just before half-time. It completed a 6-1 aggregate success.
Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 2 (April 27)
The semi-final first leg was predictably feisty, with Pepe's sending off crucial. Messi silenced the Bernabeu in the 76th minute when he converted Ibrahim Afellay's cross, then completed the performance with a mazy dribble through the Madrid defence and cool finish past Iker Casillas.
Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 1 (May 3)
Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas kept his side's slim hopes alive with a number of excellent saves in the first half, but Pedro eventually put the result beyond doubt with a goal in the 54th minute. Marcelo pulled a goal back 10 minutes later, but Barca comfortably played out the rest of the game to seal a 3-1 aggregate win.
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