Dejected United leave Rome in ruins | Night to remember for Barcelona | Ronaldo and Co lose their way | Debate: Did Ferguson get his tactics wrong? | How Barcelona rated | How United rated | How the action unfolded | Rooney: we lost to best team | Henry reaps reward with new friends | Simon Barnes | Patrick Barclay | Giles Smith | Tony Cascarino | Key moments | Graphic: errors cost United dear

Wayne Rooney praised Barcelona last night as the best team he has played against for club or country.

The Manchester United forward, who was once compared to Pelé by Sven-Göran Eriksson, the former England head coach, conceded that he has never been given such a footballing lesson and admitted that he was happy to defer to Andrés Iniesta as the best player in the world after the defeat by Barcelona.

“I’ve never played against a better team than this,” Rooney said. “They’re a brilliant team. Iniesta for me is the best player in the world, he’s incredible. They’re a great team, they pass the ball well and if you don’t take your chances, they punish you, which is what they did tonight.

“It’s disappointing, but I thought Barcelona were the better team and deserved to win. They scored a good goal early on and [Lionel] Messi’s was a great goal at a difficult time for us. We’re still a young team and can come back, I hope.”

Sir Alex Ferguson believed that the game was decided by Xavi Hernández and Iniesta rather than Messi, who underlined his status as favourite to win the Ballon d’Or by dominating his personal duel with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Messi wasn’t as much of a problem as Iniesta or Xavi,” Ferguson said. “They can keep the ball all night long. This was our 66th game [of the season] and we showed resilience and courage. Next year we will be better. That’s what this club demands.”

Rio Ferdinand, who was dragged out of position for Messi’s headed goal, conceded that none of his team-mates had performed close to their potential. “Not one of us can say we played well tonight,” he said. “It’s a shame. We created five or six chances, but they were the better team.”