Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United lost to the better side as Barcelona secured the Champions League crown in Rome, but he vowed to come back even stronger.
United were bright in the initial exchanges but after Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring after 10 minutes, there was only one team in the game as Barca over-ran their opponents in midfield.
Lionel Messi made it 2-0 after 70 minutes and the Red Devils could muster nothing in response.
Ferguson told Sky Sports 1: "In fairness we were beaten by the best team. We weren't at our best. The first goal was a killer, it was a bad start to the game. If you give them the ball they will keep it all night.
"But the best part of the game is that in adversity you always move forward quicker. We're all disappointed but we're a young team.''
Ferguson added a second striker at half-time, with Carlos Tevez replacing the ineffective Anderson.
Reflecting on that decision, the Scot said: "I brought on Tevez simply because I took the gamble of playing two through (the middle). Ryan Giggs, in the first half, provided something and some parts of his game were good but what we needed was someone to be there all the time.
"But they defended quite well. We had plenty of time and we had some half-chances which we maybe should have done better with.''
Veteran United midfielder Ryan Giggs admitted they did not play to their potential and that they were beaten by the better team.
"At times Barcelona can make you look silly because they keep the ball so well,'' Giggs told Sky Sports News. "At times we maybe chased it and didn't keep our shape as well as we should have. But still - we created chances and probably more chances than Barcelona.
"We said whoever turned up on the night would win and that proved to be the case. They turned up and played some great football - we didn't really. I think if we had gone a goal ahead, we're capable of keeping the ball like they are. But credit to them, they deserved it tonight.''
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Messi sweeps up goalscoring honours
Lionel Messi struck his ninth goal of this campaign with 20 minutes remaining in RomeLionel Messi struck his ninth goal of this campaign with 20 minutes remaining in Rome (©Getty Images)Photos/WallpapersPhotos/Wallpapers »
Lionel Messi's goal in FC Barcelona's 2-0 final victory against Manchester United FC capped a memorable season for the mercurial forward and ensured he ends with yet another personal accolade having finished as top scorer in the UEFA Champions League.
The Argentinian international managed nine goals in eleven games to take the crown from Cristiano Ronaldo, who last term had edged Messi into joint second alongside Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. This time, the 21-year-old has prevailed ahead of Liverpool FC's Gerrard and Miroslav Klose of FC Bayern München, both on seven goals, one more than FC Porto's Lisandro. Six players netted five goals, including Messi's club-mate Thierry Henry.
Messi was, however, unable to match the all-time European Champion Clubs' Cup record haul of 14 goals in a season, shared by José Altafini (AC Milan, 1962/63) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United FC, 2002/03). He nonetheless becomes the first Argentinian to top-score in Europe's élite competition since ten-goal Alfredo di Stéfano (Real Madrid CF, 1957/58). Current Madrid striker Raúl González remains the European Cup's leading marksman with 64 goals, four clear of team-mate Van Nistelrooy, with Andriy Shevchenko on 56.
2008/09 UEFA Champions League top scorers
Player Club Goals
Lionel Messi FC Barcelona 9
Steven Gerrard Liverpool FC 7
Miroslav Klose FC Bayern München 7
Lisandro FC Porto 6
Emmanuel Adebayor Arsenal FC 5
Thierry Henry FC Barcelona 5
Alessandro Del Piero Juventus 5
Didier Drogba Chelsea FC 5
Robin van Persie Arsenal FC 5
Karim Benzema Olympique Lyonnais 5
Source: African Soccer Union
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