Ah yes, this was an engrossing game. Sure, it was scrappy at times and players on both sides made embarrassing mistakes, particularly in the first half. But the sides' shortcomings added an extra layer to a thrillingly tense drama - we had tuned in knowing that each team boasted players who could alter the match with a spontaneous flourish of skill, but United's nerves and Barcelona's disjointedness and threadbare confidence meant we also now knew that the game could be transformed by a blunder.
United's goal, indeed, encapsulated this dual-appeal. It was spawned by a Gianluca Zambrotta slip, which the Italian compounded with an errant pass - but it culminated, thanks to Paul Scholes, in shooting perfection.
Ronaldo's role in the goal also deserves to be underlined. The Portuguese had been invisible for the opening 10 minutes, unable to get into the game because Sir Alex Ferguson had mysteriously chosen to estrange him from the role in which he has been so effective this season. In the 13th minute he took it upon himself to abandon his alienating central role and drifted over to the left wing - perhaps it was his sudden arrival there that flustered Zambrotta and provoked his errors.
Barça's brittleness was then exposed even more as, despite their bright beginning, they reeled headlessly for 15 minutes, during which United showed far greater fluency and vigour.
But the latent menace of Barça, particularly with Patrice Evra struggling to contain Lionel Messi, meant United were never truly comfortable. Inevitably, then, they reverted to the counter-attacking strategy that has served them so well in big games this term, both in Europe and at home (such as against Arsenal three weeks ago). It is, you see, a myth that United are relentless attackers: they have had far fewer shots in this season's Champions League than any of the other semi-finalists. Though they had the lead at half-time, this approach meant their position was still precarious.
To his credit, Ferguson recognised this and tinkered with his team's mindset at half-time. The Scot saw Barça were there for the taking and United set out in the second half to take them, cranking up the tempo and playing with the verve and purpose they'd only flirted with for 15 minutes in the first-half. As Ronaldo and Nani fizzed forward, Scholes and Michael Carrick were superb in the middle - in the first 15 minutes Ferguson's decision to pit just them against Deco, Yaya Touré and Xavi seemed foolhardy, but as the match wore on the United duo, occasionally supported by the tireless Carlos Tevez and Park Ji-Sung, gained the ascendancy, attacking and defending with phenomenal precision and energy.
With time ticking down United's nerves understandably began jangling anew and the visitors reasserted themselves somewhat. A lapse at the back allowed Thierry Henry to go close with a header, but generally United's defence was unbreachable. For all their late possession Barça were reduced to hoping Messi would conjure something special to save them. It's unfortunate for that great individual that he wasn't able to do so, but it was right for the tournament that the more coherent collective won.
Oh, and one last highlight we mustn't neglect: it came in the 40th minute, when Deco clutched his chest like a heart-attack victim in an effort to convince the referee he hadn't handled the ball: 24 carat comic gold.
