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• On This Day in 2011: Lionel Messi stars as Barcelona win Champions League

  Lionel Messi produced a Wembley masterclass as Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 in the Champions League final on this day in 2011 to become European champions for a fourth time.

  Pep Guardiola won his second Champions League as Barca head coach in three years after a dominant performance from his side.

  They reached the final after defeating El Clasico rivals Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate in the last four, with United sweeping aside Schalke 6-1 in their semi-final.

  Guardiola’s side outplayed United in the first half, enjoying 68 per cent possession and having 22 shots, but were still level at half-time as Pedro’s opener was cancelled out by Wayne Rooney, who side-footed home from 15 yards after a one-two with Ryan Giggs.

  Barca’s dominance continued after the break with Messi, who moments earlier had seen a shot cleared off the line by Patrice Evra, firing in a low shot from 25 yards.

  Messi’s dribbling then caused panic in the United defence and David Villa capitalised to whip a shot into the top corner from just outside the penalty area and secure Barcelona’s third Champions League title in six years.

  Eric Abidal, who had undergone surgery only two months earlier to remove a tumour in his liver, was given the honour of wearing the captain’s armband during the presentation ceremony and he was the first player to lift the trophy.

  After the match Guardiola hailed Messi as “the best player I have ever seen”, while United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: “In my time as manager it is the best team we have faced.”

• Dean Smith knows just how big an achievement keeping Leicester up will be

  Leicester boss Dean Smith knows he will have fulfilled a “big ask” if he can guide his side to Premier League survival on Sunday.

  The Foxes must beat West Ham at the King Power Stadium and hope Everton do not win against Bournemouth if they are to avoid relegation to the Championship.

  Smith was parachuted into an eight-game SOS mission following Brendan Rodgers’ sacking at the beginning of April but has recorded just one victory from his first seven games and accepts that his side have not done as well as he thought they would.

  The 52-year-old has experience of producing the great escape as he led Aston Villa to seven points from their final four games of the 2019/20 season to beat the drop and says something similar would be required.

  Smith said: “When you first come in you look at games and I looked at Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle and knew they were going to be tough to get points out of. I expected us probably to win our home games and nick points away from home, with probably the exception of Liverpool.

  “We are a few points short of where I expected to be and that’s why it has come down to the last one.

  “This would be a very proud day if we do it, but we have to win our game and rely on other results. Each escape will have its own merits, the one at Villa with four games to go was seven points. That in itself was a big ask, this has been a big ask and hopefully we can do it.”

  It is only two years ago since Leicester were winning the FA Cup and fighting for Champions League qualification, but they have dropped quickly after having to balance the books in the league.

  And Smith says that shows just how tough the league can be for those outside the traditional ‘big six’.

  “This league is precarious. You’ve got to have really good models now to stay in the league,” he said.

  “You look at Brighton and Brentford, two really good models of clubs, one I know very well because I worked there.

  “It is hard. You need the finance behind it but it’s not just about finance as you can see in Brentford’s case.

  “There are many different ways to stay in the league but it’s a real tough league. Very quickly you can go and lose two or three games on the spin. All of a sudden that just drains the confidence of players.”

• Erik ten Hag confident Marcus Rashford can score 40 goals in a season

  Erik ten Hag believes ever-improving Manchester United star Marcus Rashford can become a 40-goal-a-season forward.

  The 25-year-old pressed reset last summer after the most chastening year of his career, kicked off by his heart-breaking penalty shoot-out miss in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.

  Post-tournament shoulder surgery kept Rashford sidelined and an initial flurry of goals on his return quickly dried up amid widespread criticism.

  But a priceless pre-season under new boss Ten Hag led to a resurgence, with Rashford scoring his 30th goal of the season in all competitions in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Chelsea.

  Rashford’s best haul saw him become the first United player to reach 30 goals since Robin van Persie a decade ago, but Ten Hag believes the best is yet to come.

  “There’s a lot of room for improvement in his game,” the United boss said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League finale against Fulham. “I’m convinced he could score even more.

  “I think when you take, for instance, the last 10 games, he didn’t score so many goals. I think only two or three.

  “So, yeah, he can improve but I am happy from where he was last season to what he did now, that he brings himself back.

  “We supported him where we could, with the way of play but also in his mental mindset, so we are happy with that.

  “But, yeah, we have to push for more and I am sure he’s capable to score 40 goals in a season, to make also for him the next step.”

  Asked if Rashford’s form takes the pressure off getting a striker in the summer, Ten Hag said: “We need across the squad more scoring abilities.

  “You can’t be dependent on one. But it can also come from this squad, but we need more scoring abilities.”

  Ten Hag has stressed the need for additions and internal improvements after a promising first season in the dugout.

  United won February’s Carabao Cup and face Manchester City in the FA Cup final after wrapping up a Champions League return with a game to spare.

  “We have to look to ourselves,” Ten Hag said about the next step. “We want to win the cup but that is for next Saturday and we have to do everything that’s in our power.

  “I think in many aspects we can improve with this group of players, with this team. I know where we have to improve. I think there is a lot of room for improvement, yes.”

  Ten Hag feels “fantastic in this club” and says Manchester feels like a home away from home, where the reaction to people he meets on the street is “absolutely positive”.

  That feedback would be even greater from the red half of the city if United can stop rivals City’s treble charge at Wembley in the FA Cup final.

  Asked if the FA Cup final was a free hit given what they have achieved already and City’s standing or a chance to send a statement, Ten Hag retorted: “Both not.

  “But when I was here one year ago, I said we wanted to win trophies. We have won one, so we want to go for the highest.

  “But that is a long, long way, it’s going to be a project. That’s not over one year. We’re talking over one to three years.

  “But when there’s an opportunity to win a trophy, for every player it’s massive.

  “I have to count but there are not so many players in our team, in our squad who have won the FA Cup. The FA Cup is huge for everyone in the world.

  “You can have won the Champions League, you can have won so many titles, but when you have the opportunity to win the FA Cup, it goes all over the world, global-wide, a huge reputation.

  “I know from the Netherlands how big the FA Cup is, so we have the opportunity to win that.

  “We are also realistic (that) it’s not going to be easy but I can assure you one thing: we will give everything that’s in our power to get the cup.”