Champions League Final in Brief

Evra knows the score in tussle with Messi

Manchester United's Patrice Evra is bracing himself for the biggest test of his career against Barcelona's Lionel Messi, and fears one mistake could cost him. "It will be a difficult night for me," Evra said. "I know what's in store for me. If I win 20 battles against him, [but] he gets past me once and scores, they'll say that I messed up." Ferguson said: 'Messi? Pat will take care of it.' I hope I don't let him down."

Barça director urges his 'dangerous' star to seize the moment

Barcelona technical director Txiki Begiristain hopes Lionel Messi is fed up with being compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, and takes it out on Manchester United tonight. "If Messi is annoyed he becomes very dangerous," Begiristain said. "I hope he's annoyed. There are a lot of comparisons and that annoys him and motivates him a lot. We have done very well to get here, and now it is time to finish off the work of a whole season. This is a unique opportunity in the history of the club. We need to enjoy it and focus to achieve it."

O'Shea – final spot is reward for 'patience'

John O'Shea said yesterday that his place in Manchester United's starting team for tonight's final was down to him being able to bide his time at the club. "You could say the chance of playing in Rome is a reward for patience," the right-back said. "Obviously the patience has been a key and obviously just doing my job properly and working hard and waiting for the chance. This year I've had a good few chances and thankfully it's gone okay. It's a benefit of being able to get so many games and get the experience of so many matches in different positions." O'Shea will be marking Barcelona's Thierry Henry tonight.