Stage fright strikes at the Camp Nou

Ninety-eight thousand came to the Camp Nou expecting a semi-final thriller. Millions tuned in around the globe. The night was electric, the talent sublime and the stage set. Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson had predicted a fixture fit for UEFA Champions League final in Moscow. Then the unpredictable happened. Amongst the scintillating play, nerves hit, and they hit hard.

Form book
Perhaps it is a small part of the beauty of top level sport, in particular the UEFA Champions League, that only its unpredictability is absolutely certain. The form book may speak so loudly ear plugs are needed to ignore it, thousands of fans can travel to watch their team more in hope than expectation, but then nerves gnaw away at the performances of footballers who have seen and done it all before. How else to explain Gabriel Milito's waving hand, right in the middle of his own area, which gave away the second-minute penalty? More remarkable still was the effort which followed when Cristiano Ronaldo, indisputably the world's most in-form player, failed even to test Victor Valdés from the spot, placing his kick wide of the goalkeeper's left-hand upright.

Nervous tension
Unfortunately for the United forward, his miss only redoubled the nervous tension in a young man who had previously looked capable of winning this most cherished club competition virtually single-handedly. While he simmered and stewed, caught in the kind of private torment which only those who have fluffed their lines in front of almost 100,000 onlookers can understand, others caught the bug. How else to explain Edwin van der Sar being gently pressed by Samuel Eto'o and Andrés Iniesta in the 12th minute and instead of kicking the loose ball out of harm's way, sending it directly to the permanently menacing Lionel Messi?

Excellent Iniesta
Barça were not exempt either. The otherwise excellent Iniesta slid a thoughtless pass directly across his own penalty box, Ronaldo surged forward to meet the chance and although referee Massimo Busacca this time declined to point to the spot, Rafael Márquez's challenge was all desperation and no elegance. Perhaps these superstars deserve a trifle more understanding and empathy at times. The salaries are high but they train, rehearse, plan and hone their bodies to perfection – then at the vital moment they can commit an error they have not been guilty of since the school playground. 

Superb outfits
The more these two superb teams probed and tested, like two powerful middleweights wary of the other unleashing a thumping right hook, the more you had to feel sorry for John Arne Riise's calamitous moment the previous night at Anfield. Tension bites hard when Europe's premier club competition reaches this stage. 

Voracious hunger
Carlos Queiroz waved Ronaldo forward and the player snapped back, all flailing arms, that he could not even get a touch of the ball. Before the end, the Portuguese had sniped at Rio Ferdinand, prayed to the heavens and showed voracious hunger to atone for that one inexplicable moment at the start of the match. But no one should be too hard on him, or Riise. They willl hide their pain, patch up their frayed nerves and stride back out for battle again next week. And expectation, anticipation and the prize at stake will be just as high second time around.