Man Utd vs Barcelona Highlights 2-1

Barcelona 1-2 Manchester United: Nani and Michael Owen exact revenge for Champions League final

The rematch of last year's Champions League final ended with United earning a 2-1 win over the team that beat it to the European title.

Manchester United exacted at least a measure of revenge against Barcelona for its loss to the Spanish club in the 2011 Champions League final with a 2-1 friendly win in Washington D.C.

The match set an attendance record for a soccer match in the D.C. area, drawing 81,807 people to see two of the top clubs in the world do battle.

As would be expected, even in a friendly with little on the line, Barcelona dominated possession for long spells, but Nani took advantage of the Spanish side's high line and gave United a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the match.

Danny Welbeck set the table with a fantastic break out of the back. The Portuguese winger held his run just long enough to beat the trap and from there his pace left him in alone on Victor Valdes, and Nani gave the keeper little chance of coming up with a save.Barcelona continued to dominate a large portion of the match, but the chances were limited by United's defense, which tucked in and looked comfortable dealing with Barcelona's constant pressure.

Nani tried to repay the favor to Welbeck 65 minutes in when he slipped a pass through to put the forward in on goal. Valdes made the save this time, and as the rebound fell to Nani he could only slash at a left-footed effort and put it up over the goal.

The miss would come back to haunt United seven minutes later as Thiago smashed home a brilliant equalizer from 25-yards that swerved away from David De Gea and into the upper corner of the goal.

But an uncharacteristic mistake from Barcelona in midfield put United back in front in the 66th minute. Tom Cleverly stepped in to intercept a pass and the break was on, with the midfielder playing Michael Owen in on goal with only Valdes to beat. Owen made no mistake and United was back in the lead.

Thiago and Barcelona continued to push the pace, but the midfielder's shot from range in the 89th minute couldn't replicate the brilliance of his earlier effort, and despite numerous pushes into United's end of the pitch the Catalans couldn't find a second equalizer.

Owen had a chance to put the match on ice in the first minute of stoppage time after Gabriel Obertan set him up with a great cross, but the striker scuffed the shot up over the frame.

Barcelona - Manchester United Wembley re-match in Washington DC

A fascinating re-run of the 2011 Champions League final is in prospepct as Europe's top two teams from last season go head-to-head again in the capital of the United States

Dimitar Berbatov, Ji-Sung Park and Anderson of Manchester United (Getty Images)

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes, Abidal, Pique, Puyol, Fontas, Thiago, Busquets, Iniesta, Afellay, Jonathan, Villa.

Xavi is doubtful with an Achilles problem while Lionel Messi and new signing Alexis Sanchez are still on holiday following their Copa America participation with Argentina and Chile, respectively.

Manchester United (4-4-2): De Gea, Jones, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Young, Carrick, Anderson, Park, Rooney, Berbatov.

Javier Hernandez is out after suffering concussion in training ahead of United's game against the MLS All-Stars. Darren Fletcher is sidelined with a virus and Antonio Valencia with an ankle injury.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Manchester United defeated the MLS All-Stars 4-0 on Wednesday night at the Red Bull Arena.
• Barcelona will play three matches in the United States, starting with this clash against Manchester United. The club will then face CD Guadalajara and Club America on August 3 and 6, respectively.

• So far on their North American tour, Manchester United are undefeated, having won all four of their matches.

• Manchester United will begin their Premier League season on August 14 while Barcelona start their La Liga campaign a week later on August 21.

• This will be the first time the teams have met since the Champions League final at Wembley in May. Barcelona came away 3-1 winners in that showpiece contest.

• The 2011-12 season will mark Pep Guardiola's fourth campaign in charge of the Spanish champions. It will be Sir Alex Ferguson's 25th with United.

• Barca have played just two pre-season friendlies so far, beating Internacional 4-2 on penalties and defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 to win the 2011 Audi Cup.

• FedEx Field seats roughly 91,000 people - nearly 16,000 more than Manchester United's Old Trafford, but 8,000 fewer than Barcelona's Camp Nou.

Field Report

 Barcelona

 Manchester United

Head to Head

UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎	28 May 2011	Barcelona 3 - Manchester United 1
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎	27 May 2009	Barcelona 2 - Manchester United 0

Last Five Matches

27 Jul 2011	Barcelona 2 - FC Bayern München 0	FR
26 Jul 2011	Barcelona 2 - Internacional 2	FR
28 May 2011	Barcelona 3 - Manchester United 1	UCL
21 May 2011	Málaga 1 - Barcelona 3	LIGA
15 May 2011	Barcelona 0 - Deportivo La Coruña 0	LIGA

28 Jul 2011	MLS All-Stars 2009 0 - Manchester United 4	FR
23 Jul 2011	Chicago Fire 1 - Manchester United 3	FR
21 Jul 2011	Seattle Sounders F.C. 0 -Manchester United 7	FR
14 Jul 2011	New England Revolution 1 -Manchester United 4	FR
28 May 2011	Barcelona 3 - Manchester United 1	UCL

Barcelona's Thiago is going to be world class, Ibrahimovic and Kroos are back - five things we learned from the Audi Cup

Getty Images

The second biannual Audi Cup delivered no shortage of entertainment this week as European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan, as well as Brazilian visitor Internacional, went head-to-head in Germany.

The friendly competition offered a chance for the sides to measure their form, as well as depth, as they each played 180 minutes over the course of two days.

After playing to draws, Barcelona and host Bayern won penalty shoot-outs to advance to the final. On Wednesday, the Catalans went on to beat the Germans 2-0 to claim their first trophy of the season. Inter, meanwhile, finished third after edging past Milan in penalties.

Below, Goal.com takes a look at the lessons that can be learned from the tournament.

Thiago has a big future at Barcelona - with or without Cesc Fabregas

Impressive against Internacional and imperious versus Bayern Munich, Thiago Alcantara showed exactly why so many clubs are chasing him this summer - and just why Barcelona won't be letting him leave anytime soon. Thiago scored three of his side's four goals in the competition, including a stunning second against the German team to firmly stake a claim for a first-team place next term - whether or not Cesc Fabregas arrives.

In fact, on this evidence, Barca don't really need the Arsenal captain at all. Thiago bossed the Audi Cup final and continues to enjoy a superb summer, having been instrumental in Spain's win in the Under-21 European Championship before signing a new, long-term deal with the Catalan club. Quite a close season, quite a player - and for Thiago and Barca, it's just the start.

Bayern Munich is still a mess in defense, but there is hope on the horizon

Given its aspirations of winning a treble, the way Bayern began the Audi Cup was a real laugh. It took just four minutes for the offside trap to be beaten, and it was sprung by a laid-back forward, taking down a long, high ball. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had all the time in the world to finish, and did so with aplomb. Not long thereafter, Antonio Cassano was through on goal, but Manuel Neuer bailed out his defense with a typically world class save.

In the final against Barcelona, however, Bayern showed signs of improvement. It may have lost 2-0, but one goal could hardly be defended against, and the defensive blunder for the other was committed by a player who will only be in the team's periphery in the coming season.

On the other hand, new signing Jerome Boateng was a rock in the center: his pace and leaping ability alone allowed him to cover more territory than Daniel Van Buyten had against Milan, but the former Hamburg man was alert and decisive in defense. Even Holger Badstuber looked better alongside him.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is ready to cause a stir again

They say he doesn’t turn up on big European nights, but they can’t say he isn’t quick off the mark. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back, and in double-quick time.

Having ended the last campaign with a suspension-laden whimper, he has taken little time in getting into his stride in pre-season. A hat-trick in Milan’s 12-0 win over Solbiatese was just the start, as he went on to become the only Rossoneri player to make any real positive impression on the Audi Cup.

Four minutes into Tuesday’s clash with Bayern he’d already found the net. The following day, he struck twice as quickly. His goals, as well as his general play, smacked of a truly confident player – one who is ready to cause a stir again, despite still needing to shed some holiday weight.

Not since the end of the 2008-09 season has the Swede really been at the very top of his game, but the signs – however uncompetitive the matches have been so far – are positive.

For a second time, Jupp Heynckes has brought the best out of Toni Kroos 

Around 18 months ago, Kroos was in the midst of an impressive run of form while on loan at Leverkusen. Under coach Jupp Heynckes, the U-17 World Cup Golden Ball winner blossomed, assisting goals and scoring stunning strikes from distance on a regular basis. His return to Munich was anything but triumphant, however, and the youngster never managed to break into the starting line-up under Louis van Gaal.

The reunion with Heynckes seems to have sparked new life into Kroos, who had a superb match against Milan. The midfielder scored a brilliant goal from distance, and came close with several more attempts, earning man of the match honors. It was just the latest in a string of impressive performances by the former Hansa Rostock man, who could turn out to be a real ace for Bayern.

Let's be honest - a 'prestige friendly isn't a Champions League tie

There were back-to-back full houses at the Allianz Arena, which will have pleased everyone involved. Bayern Munich and its lucrative sponsors will be happy with their more than adequate payday, and the fans who turned up will be able to say they’ve seen Barcelona, AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Internacional already this season. And as for the players: well, there’s nothing quite like playing in front of a full stadium… especially for the Italians who can’t count that as a regular luxury.

But while it was a competition contested in great spirits with the best team winning, there is little escaping the fact that there will always be sides with differing priorities taking part in fixtures such as these. Internacional and Milan provided a worthy spectacle on Wednesday, but it was clear that they were teams at two very different ends of the scale.

The Brazilians are a quarter of the way through their Brasileiro campaign, while the first thing in the minds of the Scudetto holders after missing all of their penalties will have been to check their league fixtures ahead of the season’s start in a month’s time. Tournaments like this often just remind us of how much clubs don’t need such matches.

Barcelona 2-0 Bayern Munich Thiago brace clinches Audi Cup for European champions

Bongarts

Barcelona has clinched the Audi Cup after a straightforward 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

Star of the show was Barca's emerging star Thiago Alcantara, who struck in either half to condemn the hosts to defeat, in what was an impressive all-round display from the 20-year-old.

The match was a somewhat low key affair despite the 60,000 packed into the stadium; Bayern fielded nine changes from the side that started the penalty-kick win over AC Milan, while Barca shuffled its pack but included Thiago and Andres Iniesta in its midfield.

It was the Catalan side who enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening exchanges, but aside from a David Villa free-kick that was palmed to safety by Butt and a half-chance for Jonathan Soriano, opportunities on goal were at a premium.

Bayern should then have taken the lead against the run of play as David Alaba raced clear, but he hesitated with his finish, and Victor Valdes did extremely well to spread himself and block the effort.

The Austrian was made to rue that miss as Barca took the lead on 41 minutes. Maxwell's chipped cross into the area looked for Thiago at the back post, and the young Spaniard leapt higher than Diego Contento to glance his header into the corner.

The flow of play in the second-half was severely disturbed due to incessant substitutions from both sides. Bayern introduced the likes of Toni Kroos, Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller as it sought to peg back the European champions.

However, the new arrivals were left to look on in awe as Thiago all but ended the contest with his second goal of the evening. Finding space at the edge of the area, he expertly curled a shot from all of thirty yards into Butt's top left corner, and took the acclaim from his teammates after another superb outing.

Barca was able to see out the match from there, and after edging past Internacional on penalties on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola's side ruthlessly clinched the Audi Cup on German soil