Out of eight Spanish and English teams playing in the Champions League this week, only Arsenal were victorious.

Was this a blip for the two powerhouses, or is it another indication that Europe's top club competition is becoming more balanced?

I did a video blog on Tuesday about the difficulties in Italian football (and got a bit of stick for it!) and for 86 minutes of Dynamo Kiev v Inter Milan the problems were still there.

But a quick double burst by Jose Mourinho's men gave them a 2-1 comeback win and they are now top of the group. If they beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp next time out then the holders could be in real trouble. 

In the long run, I still maintain that a Serie A side will really struggle to win it this season but what about flying Bordeaux?

It's possibly beyond a French side as well, which leads me back to Arsenal.

Manchester United are suddenly looking shaky at the back while Chelsea, Barca, Real Madrid are far from perfect.

I reckoned at the start of the season that Arsenal, with their youthful exuberance and delightful play, could be real challengers in Europe and although they have probably had an easier group and are not even through yet, their chances look to be increasing.  

PHOTO: Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas scores his second goal in the 4-1 home win over AZ Alkmaar, Nov 4, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Ricky Rubio is the one that got away from the NBA. The number five draft pick opted to spend another year or two in Spain rather than join the Minnesota Timberwolves and FC Barcelona are understandably elated to have got him.

Click the video above to see Rubio celebrate his 19th birthday by helping Barcelona demolish Fenerbahce in the Euroleague. We also take a look at Jenson Button’s homecoming after his Formula 1 world title victory, and why batsmen the world over should be glad a certain Usain Bolt opted for track and field over cricket.

Back next week, same time same place, for more.

Manchester United palpably failed to become the first team to retain the European Cup in the Champions League era but few would bet against Barcelona managing the feat next season.

And where would be the perfect place for Pep Guardiola's stylish side to achieve it? The Nou Camp? No, next year's final is in Madrid and the Barca fans I spoke to in Rome after the game could not think of a better venue to show their rivals and world football that they are undisputed kings.

May 22 next year is a long time to wait for the first Saturday final but Guardiola will quickly turn his attention to that quest once he recovers from all-night revelry. (When he was hurled into the air by his players during the on-pitch celebrations, he looked a little scared their weary limbs would not support him).

What's scarier still is that Barca easily overcame United 2-0 without needing to play especially well.

Barca were definitely not at their best in the semi-final with Chelsea and yet still they went on to complete the first ever Spanish treble.

Guardiola is 38 and in his first season in charge. He must think this management game is easy, and I guess it can be when you have players of the class of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. (Were Inieista and Henry ever really doubts for the final? They looked in fine fettle to me)

Their 6-2 thrashing of Real recently just shows what they are like when they are really on form.

Perhaps they'll leave their best performance for the Bernabeu again next year...

PHOTO: REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Barcelona deposed Manchester United as European champions with an outstanding 2-0 victory in the Champions League final at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.

Samuel Eto'o struck the opener after 10 minutes when he cut in from the right past Nemanja Vidic with surprising ease and his low shot beat United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar at his near post. Xavi cracked a free kick against a United post at the start of the second half before Lionel Messi sealed the win after 70 minutes when he scored with a beautifully timed header from Xavi's cross.

It was a curiously subdued performance from United, while Barcelona got full value for a performance that was thoroughly professional but hardly brilliant.

Alex Ferguson was content to say the best team won. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.

PHOTO: Barcelona's Xavi (R) and Victor Valdes celebrate victory over Manchester United. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Full-time: Barcelona 2 Manchester United 0.

Pre-match:

Now the teams are in, and there are no big surprises (see below) here's Mike Collett's view from the press seats at the Stadio Olimpico:

Manchester United first out to warm up with 40 minutes to go before kickoff -- wearing royal blue tops and white shorts with thousands of fans sainging "Glory Glory Man United..."

Barcelona following them out a couple of minutes later in vivid orange tops reminiscint of the colour they wore when they first won the European Cup in 1992 .... Weather absolutely fantastic, sky still blue, can hardly hear myself talk to colleagues next to me!

No small-talk in the back room for UEFA president Michel Platini, who is out in his seat already. Platini, of course, has decided that this will be the last CL final to be played in midweek. From next season in Madrid the final will be played on a Saturday. Platini wants more familiies and children to have the chance to see the match live and thinks a midweek final restricts schoolkids from going. What about the cost of the tickets?

And this from Mark: The "opening ceremony" starting with what looks like about 50 women dressed in red and green wearing swimming caps and holding shields. Quite what that has to do with Rome or soccer, no one is quite sure...

Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 5-Carles Puyol, 24-Yaya Toure, 3-Gerard Pique, 16-Silvinho; 28-Sergio Busquets, 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 10-Lional Messi, 9-Samuel Eto'o, 14-Thierry Henry.

Manchester United: 1-Edwin van der Sar; 22-John O'Shea, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 15-Nemanja Vidic, 3-Patrice Evra; 13-Park Ji-sung, 16-Michael Carrick, 8-Anderson, 11-Ryan Giggs; 7-Cristiano Ronaldo, 10-Wayne Rooney.

What does it mean? over to Mark Meadows in Rome: "Iniesta and Henry are fit to start for Barca with Silvinho getting the nod at left back. United's Park Ji-sung is the first Asian to play in a Champions league final while Ryan Giggs will captain the holders."

More to come...

Evening all, and welcome to our (first) live Champions League final blog. I'm at Reuters HQ at Canary Wharf but I'll be passing on live updates from our reporters in the stadium -- goal flashes, red cards, near misses and general observations from the best night of the European football season.

I'll put the latest update at the top...

While we wait on definitive team news -- particularly on whether Iniesta and Henry will make the Barcelona starting line-up -- here's Milan-based sports correspondent Mark Meadows, who arrived at the Stadio Olimpico a fairly comfortable five hours before kick-off:

A sprinkling of fans are beginning to enter the stadium on what continues to be another lovely sunny day. 'FOR SIR MATT' is written out on the seats in Man Utd's end. It would have been Busby's 100th birthday yesterday.

Some of those giant inflatables are also fluttering about behind one goal. Strangely they are all dressed in Barca's kit.

Fans were congregating in the city centre from early on Wednesday. A 'sing off' between the two sets of supporters was heard while the Barca fans have made the Trevi fountain their spot. More United supporters were around the Colosseum.

More to come... And remember, comments are always welcome...

PHOTO: Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o (L) celebrates his goal with teammate Lionel Messi at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, May 27, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

The new Angels and Demons movie is based in Rome so it got us thinking who might end up being an angel or a demon after Wednesday's Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.

Will one of the goalkeepers drop a clanger or will Cristiano Ronaldo belt one in again from 40 metres? It's a big pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, but I can see Lionel Messi running the length of it with the ball at his feet...

New thread on this here...

New thread on this here...

Manchester United's Red Devils will be wearing angelic white in Wednesday's Champions League final, just how Alex Ferguson likes it.

Barcelona are the nominal home team for the 'dream final' in Rome and as their famous claret and blue tops clash with United's usual red and their first choice blue away kit, the holders will wander onto the pristine Stadio Olimpico pitch in white.

"We’ll wear white, we are very happy with that," Ferguson beamed.

Of course United wore white the last time they met and beat Barca in a European final, the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup showpiece in English clubs' first year back in Europe after Heysel.

Former Barcelona striker Mark Hughes scored twice in the 2-1 win in Rotterdam.

What's your prediction this time?

PHOTO: Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson arrives for a news conference ahead of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final soccer match against Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium in Rome May 26, 2009. REUTERS/Max Rossi

Major finals featuring the best teams and the best players, the ones we talk up in advance as being for the connoisseur, often turn out to be the most disappointing, don't they? Maybe it's stage fright, too much respect for the opposition or the stakes being just too high, but great teams often seem to save their worst football for finals.

There are exceptions, of course. The 2005 Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool produced exquisite football in the first half from the Italians, and drama that will live long in the minds of anyone who watched it as Liverpool came back.

But when you look back on other Champions League and World Cup finals, how many can you remember for the quality of the football more than the result itself?

There was little on show in last year's game between Manchester United and Chelsea so why are so many people expecting this year's contest between United and Barcelona to be so different?

I think there is a reason, and I hope I'm proved right by the events on Wednesday in Rome.

A football match can be ruined by almost anything but the surest route to a damp squib is fear of failure.

Neither side on Wednesday has any need to fear the consequences of a defeat. They're both at the top of the tree domestically, and both have had recent experience of winning the Champions League. It goes without saying they'll be desperate to win, but no one's job will be on the line, no project will stand or fall by this one result. Both teams will expect to be back in another Champions League final soon enough.

The last time two outstanding and supremely self-confident teams met in a Champions League final was arguably 1999, when Manchester United faced Bayern Munich. The problem then was that neither side had recent experience of a final. United in particular seemed overawed and it was only the last couple of minutes that rescued what was otherwise a pretty dire match.

Looking further back down the list, the eye is drawn to 1994, when a Barcelona side that had won the competition two years previously, and included Pep Guardiola in midfield, suffered a humbling 4-0 defeat by AC Milan, who had lost the 1993* final to Marseille.

You may argue that the final was too one-sided to be remembered as a classic, but the performance from Milan will go down as one of the great ones.

Will Barcelona, United or both be able to play to that sort of level in Rome on Wednesday? Will Iniesta, Xavi and Messi find the perfect weight and direction on those passes around the penalty area to cut the English defence in two? Will United's rampant counter-attacks make it another night to forget for Guardiola?

Whatever happens, I suspect we'll be talking about it for a long time... as long as the two teams stay true to themselves.

* Amended after temporary mind failure on part of author had 2003... (see comments)

PHOTO: Policemen show the UEFA Champions League trophy in front of the Arch of Constantine and Colosseum in Rome May 23, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

There were nervous moments for Barcelona in the first half of the King’s Cup final but a three-goal nine-minute burst from Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic and Xavi helped them to a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao and the first leg of a possible treble.

The league title could be their this weekend, on Saturday if Real Madrid fail to win at Villarreal or failing that on Sunday if they can manage a point at Real Mallorca.

The big one, of course, is the Champions League final against Manchester United on May 27 in Rome.

United are on the brink of their third successive Premier League title after leaving it late to beat Wigan Athletic on Wednesday.

So the two best teams in Europe kept the winning habit … and who will triumph when they meet later this month remains deliciously difficult to call.

PHOTO: Barcelona players celebrate Yaya Toure’s goal against Athletic Bilbao during their King’s Cup final at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, May 13, 2009. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

Maybe Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo was wrong on all the big decisions in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg --- it absolutely does not justify Chelsea's reaction.

UEFA's "Respect" campaign was, again, left in tatters as pandemonium erupted after Andres Iniesta's late equaliser sent Barcelona through on the away goals rule.

Didier Drogba had long been substituted but found enough energy to sprint onto the field at fulltime and harangue the referee, collecting a booking in the process.

Chelsea stewards and his team mates failed to control him as he returned for another bite, before turning his wrath to the cameras.

During the match the Ivorian striker had shown the best and worst sides of his game and should look to himself when considering why referees perhaps do not react kindly to his team's appeals.

He often showed barnstorming strength to battle through the Barcelona defence but, as so often before, suddenly developed legs of straw when he decided it was time to win a freekick.

On one occasion he actually injured his back while performing a fierce body flip of frustration after another collapse had been waved away by the referee.

Midfielder Michael Ballack, another hugely experienced player, also went ballistic, neck veins popping Roy Keane-style as he screamed in the face of the referee and barged him after he opted not to give a penalty for a late handball.

He had been a bit quieter earlier when the Norwegian sent off Barcelona's Eric Abidal for clipping the heels of Nicolas Anelka - but refereeing errors are obviously acceptable "at this level" if they work in your favour.

Manager Guus Hiddink, admirably calm amid the mayhem and normally among the most thoughtful and intelligent observers of the game, did himself no favours when he backed Drogba's actions.

"I can fully understand his reaction," he said. "He was full of emotion and full of adrenalin but he was in control. If he went beyond that and started hitting he should go, but I fully understand his behaviour after the game and I will protect him."

England midfielder Frank Lampard added: "I dont think you can expect grown men to walk off and say nothing," a comment wide open for an all-too-obvious retort.

John Terry, captain of Chelsea, captain of England and supposedly a role model for all young players, was another to blot his reputation after a superb playing performance.

"I'm fully behind Didier," he said." It is the referee who should face the consequences."

What these millionaire "grown men" do not seem to realise is that as their example filters down through the game, and it does, there will eventually be no referees left for them or anyone else, to vent their frustrations on.

Respect.

PHOTO: REUTERS/Eddie Keogh