HOW TIME CHANGES

 

Image Credit- F.C. Barcelona

In the UEFA Champions League Season of 2007-08, FC Barcelona faced Manchester United in the semi-final stage of the competition. A semi-final stage is always a big stage, but it became even bigger because the footballing world witnessed a clash between the rising stars of the game Lionel Messi [FCB] and Cristiano Ronaldo [MAN UTD]. 

The first leg at Camp Nou ended in a 0-0 draw. Whereas the second leg ended in a 1-0 win for the Red Devils. Courtesy - Paul Scholes screamer. The Red Devils eventually lifted the Champions League Trophy in Moscow after beating Chelsea in penalty shootout. A few months later Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon D'Or award for his remarkable performance in the 2007-08 season.

In the 2008-09 Champions League Season, Manchester United faced F.C. Barcelona in the finals at Rome. However, this time the Catalans played far better football and won the finals 2-0. Six months later Lionel Messi won his first Ballon D'Or trophy. However, the final turned out to be the last game for Cristiano as a Manchester United player as he left the Red Devils in the summer of 2009 for the Galacticos. 

A couple of years later the final of 2009 was repeated and F.C. Barcelona again won the Champions League trophy by beating Manchester United 3-1 in Wembley. 

8 years later both the sides met again in the quarterfinals of the tournament. And again F.C. Barcelona emerged victorious and marched into the semi-finals of the tournament before being knocked out by Liverpool F.C in the semi-final. 

However now the time has changed. Now these two sides are clashing against each other in the round of 32 of the Europa League Trophy [2022-23]. Alas. How the Giants have fallen.