United were beaten by Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final. The Catalan side were at the peak of their powers then, but Sir Alex Ferguson believes one key decision could’ve helped them win the trophy.
During his 27-year spell at Manchester United, sir Alex helped establish the Red Devils back at the top of the English football ladder, overtaking Liverpool in the process. There was a continental success as well, with United winning two UEFA Champions League trophies.
However, Ferguson believes that they could’ve won another one. Manchester United lost to Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League final, with the Blaugrana much the superior side on the day. Nonetheless, the Scotsman says that had he asked Park Ji-sung to mark Lionel Messi that night, they would’ve won that game.
“That’s where I lost the final against Barcelona at Wembley.
“I should have changed at half-time and put Ji-sung Park on Messi.
“That was a mistake… I was going to do it at half-time, then I said, ‘Well, we just equalized before half-time, they may see the game differently, we may grow into the game better.’
“We were actually quite good in the last 10 minutes of that half. We came into it and we could have been in front.
“But if I’d played Ji-sung Park against Messi, I think we’d have beaten them. I really do.”
Ferguson said in an interview with SportBible.
Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 that night, with Messi scoring one of their goals. However, as Ferguson explained, the two teams were level going into the break with a goal apiece from Pedro and Wayne Rooney.
Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola’s team turned the game around shortly after the start of the second half. Messi scored first to put Barcelona on top before David Villa sealed their victory with a third goal before the 70th minute. United ended up as runners-up to the Spanish giants for the second time in three years.
