There are occasions when the best team does not win. There are also occasions when the final of a given competition is not contested by the teams that proved to be the best. Just take a look at what happened last year when Inter and Bayern Munich made it to the Champions League final. They had not expressed the best football but still, the game offers this possibility: Blunders, those by the referees included, and episodes favoured the Italians and the Germans, and they were both in Madrid on the night of the final.

This year it is a different story because Barcelona and Manchester United – the two teams that will contest the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on 28 May – are the best teams that this competition had on offer since September.

They were consistent, spectacular and overwhelming, and they deserve to be in the final, which is a remake of the one they had only two years ago when, again, they had both expressed the best football on their way to the ultimate game. There is one difference however between the 2009 edition and this year’s. Two years ago, Alex Ferguson’s team was considered to be the favourite in the run-up to the final, but Barcelona ended up winners in Rome with a 2-0 score. That was the only time Manchester United lost a European Cup final in their four appearances.

This year, the Spanish side is the one which is deemed to have – even by Sir Alex – the better chance to be crowned champions.

This adds to the expectations. Only time will tell whether Manchester United will take their revenge, or whether Barcelona will make it two victories in three years. Whatever happens, the winner will be notching a fourth European Cup win, the same as Bayern Munich and Ajax, one less than Liverpool who have five trophies, while Real Madrid still lead with nine wins followed by Milan on seven.

By the time the game is played, the respective domestic leagues would be over. At present, both are topping the table, but Barcelona’s lead over Real Madrid is more comfortable than that enjoyed by the Red Devils, who face a crucial game against Chelsea tomorrow.

The win obtained in Germany in the first leg allowed Manchester United to rest key players for their Old Trafford return leg last Wednesday. On the other hand, Barcelona’s win over Real Madrid once again exposed the bitter rivalry that exists between the two sides – and José Mourinho’s hand on his Real Madrid team, which showed lack of fair play during the match by making Barcelona’s Lionel Messi a favourite target for kicks and shoves, not to mention their after-match insinuations.