Can't fault the second half effort1. Can't fault the entertainment value. Can't argue we didn't deserve to crash out either. Heroic last-ditch efforts aside, it was over the last four games that the ghost was well and truly given up, not this one match that sealed the deal.

Talking points?

The UEFA Champions League group stage kicks off on Tuesday with half of the teams in action, but one match wil command a bit more attention than the rest.

Defending European champion Barcelona welcomes AC Milan to Camp Nou for a high-profile group-stage opener (2:45 p.m.

To quote famous American sportscaster Marv Albert, it has come down to this.

After 59 matches and more than 5,000 minutes of football, the last and most important match in Manchester United's 2010/11 season is little more than 24 hours away.

Any season in which you win the Premier League title, and a record-breaking one at that, is a very good season, but one match stands between this campaign being just very good and it being great.