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The European football season has ended. The strongest team of the Old Continent became "Barcelona", who managed to come back in the Champions League final held in Paris after conceding a goal against London's "Arsenal" team and becoming the tournament winner with two goals in five minutes in the second half.
Paris "Stade de France", 79500 spectators Referee - Terje Hauge (Norway). 2 - 1 37` [0 - 1] Sol Campbell 76` [1 - 1] Samuel Eto'o 81` [2 - 1] Juliano Belletti
The match started with dangerous moments in front of the Catalan team's goal. Emmanuel Eboue passed the ball to Thierry Henry in the third minute of the match, and the Frenchman broke away from Rafael Marquez defending him and shot on goal, but "Barcelona" goalkeeper Victor Valdes saved the shot with his legs. The ball ended up out of play, and the London team won a corner, which was followed by another dangerous shot from Thierry Henry, but once again the Spanish team's goalkeeper did his job perfectly.
However, "Barcelona" slowly started to recover and in the eighth minute, taking advantage of Ashley Cole's mistake, Ludovic Giuly had a chance to shoot freely on goal. However, his shot was easily caught by Jens Lehmann. After about ten minutes, Deco tested his luck from distance, but once again J. Lehmann was reliable. But a minute later, a crucial moment ended the participation of the reliable German. Ronaldinho sent Samuel Eto'o through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and trying to defend, J. Lehmann brought down the opponent right outside the penalty area. The referee did not hesitate to show the German a red card, and then "Arsenal" substitute goalkeeper Manuel Almunia entered the goal, replacing Robert Pires. After the foul against S. Eto'o, a mix-up with L. Giuly's goal was disallowed, while Ronaldinho failed to convert the resulting penalty kick.
Then "Barcelona" took over the initiative on the field. Several times Ludovic Giuly was very close to a good opportunity to shoot on goal, but at the last moment Ashley Cole and "Arsenal" goalkeeper Manuel Almunia managed to defend well. It seemed like a "Barcelona" goal was just around the corner, but it was actually scored on the other side of the field.
In the 37th minute, "Arsenal" defender Emmanuel Eboue charged down the right and his run was stopped in the opponents' penalty area by "Barca" captain Carles Puyol. Taking the penalty kick was Thierry Henry - the Frenchman made a pass into the penalty area, where defender Sol Campbell, who had jumped high with his head, directed the ball into the goal and unexpectedly put his team ahead.
Then "Barcelona" immediately attacked to equalize the score, and at first they struggled to breakthrough the English defense, but just before the halftime break, the Catalan team was very close to leveling the score - Samuel Eto'o received the ball in the penalty area and, outsmarting Arsenal defender S. Campbell, shot towards goal, but "Arsenal" goalkeeper M. Almunia redirected the ball with his fingertips. The "Gunners" held on and entered the halftime break with a minimal advantage.
The second half began with the ball controlled by the Spanish club for the most part of the time. Substitutes Andreas Iniesta and Deco took shots from distance at the "Arsenal" backup goalkeeper, but they couldn't beat Manuel Almunia. The Spaniards continued to attack, but the excellent defense of "Arsenal" held firm, and from time to time the English club managed to create more dangerous counter-attacks.
In one of them, Alexander Hleb broke into the penalty area and had a fairly favorable situation to shoot on goal, but his shot missed just past the post. After a while, Thierry Henry demonstrated his extraordinary abilities, breaking through the defense of two "Barca" defenders, but the Frenchman released the ball too far in the end. This was followed by a dangerous break by Freddie Ljungberg and a shot on goal from a sharp angle, but "Barca" goalkeeper V. Valdes played incredibly to save his team.
One opportunity to secure victory came for "Arsenal" in the 70th minute, when A. Hleb set up T. Henry one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the unsuccessful shot was blocked by the reliable Catalonia club goalkeeper. As it turned out later, this missed opportunity cost the English club dearly.
The rain started pouring at the stadium, bringing luck to the Catalans, as in the 76th minute "Barca" finally managed to break through the iron English defense - after a substitution, Henrik Larsson dropped the ball to S. Eto'o sprinting in the penalty area and the Cameroonian scored with a precise shot to beat the "Arsenal" backup goalkeeper. After this episode, the "Gunners" were shaken, while the players of the Catalonia team did not reduce the pace and in the 81st minute scored the decisive goal - H. Larsson, turning around, found the free Brazilian Juliano Belletti with a perfect pass and he managed to send the ball into the goal guarded by M. Almunia between the goalkeeper's legs.
"Arsenal" coach Arsene Wenger soon sent Spanish Jose Antonio Reyes onto the field, and although the "Gunners" tried their best to attack the opponent's goal, exhausted in the playing field, the English club players in the final stages of the game failed to create more dangerous opportunities. The "Barcelona" team controlled the situation until the end of the match and, maintaining the lead, won the title of the strongest European team for the second time in the club's history.
