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Results Based News

Barcelona Are Kings Of Europe

Date: 28/05/2009

Barcelona made light of the football betting odds after being crowned kings of Europe following a 2-0 Champions League Final victory over Manchester United.

United had been the favourites with the sportsbooks ahead of the final in Rome, but they failed to perform on the night and missed the opportunity to become the first team to successfully defend the Champions League crown.

Samuel Eto'o fired Barca ahead in the tenth minute to take the sting out of a fast start by the Red Devils.

Andres Iniesta broke from midfield and played in Eto'o, who stepped inside Nemanja Vidic and drilled the ball past Edwin van der Sar at his near post.

Twenty minutes from time it was game over as Xavi had time and space to play in a superb cross from the right and Lionel Messi was unmarked at the far post to head home from eight yards.

Carles Puyol and Iniesta threatened to add a third goal as the clock ticked away, with the final whistle allowing Barca coach Pep Guardiola to celebrate a league, domestic cup and European treble in his first season in charge at the Camp Nou.

Andy Murray suffered a scare before booking his place in the third round of the French Open in Paris.

The British number one found himself 5-1 down in the third set after sharing the opening two with Italy's Potito Starace.

But Murray recovered to progress 6-3 2-6 7-5 6-4 and will now face Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic - conqueror of 28th seed Feliciano Lopez - later in the week.

World number one Rafael Nadal breezed into the third round where he will play Lleyton Hewitt after a straightforward 6-1 6-4 6-1 victory over Teimuraz Gabashvili.

In the women's draw, former world number one Maria Sharapova showed flashes of her previous best after a 6-2 1-6 8-6 win over 11th seed Nadia Petrova.

In cricket's Twenty20 Cup, Surrey and Kent were winners over Hampshire and Middlesex respectively in the South Division.

Surrey sealed victory by just one run in a thrilling encounter at The Oval.

In the Mid/West/Wales Division there were wins for Glamorgan by 39 runs over Gloucestershire and Somerset by five wickets against Warwickshire.

Meanwhile, New Zealand warmed-up for next month's World Twenty20 by coasting to a seven-wicket victory over Ireland at Derby.

Big-hitting batsman Ross Taylor was the star of the show as he hit 74 of the Black Caps' 153 total off just 36 balls.

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