On This Day in 2006, Celtic legend Henrik Larsson was crowned as a King of Europe. The Swedish striker was a second half substitute for Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona as they came from behind to beat Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League Final.
Within twenty minutes, Arsenal were down to ten men when Jenz Lehmann was sent off for a foul on Samuel Eto’o. After 37 minutes, a Thierry Henry free-kick was met by Sol Campbell to make it 1-0.
After 61 minutes, Van Bommel was replaced by Larsson. The game was flipped on its head with two assists from Larsson after 75 minutes. The Swede latched onto an Andres Iniesta pass and provided a deft one-touch assist for Eto’o. Four minutes later, Larsson worked a one-two with Belletti firing the ball into the net.
Larsson was not the official Man of the Match but he was certainly the player that changed the match and delivered the trophy for Barca. A dejected Henry praised Larsson for his contribution after the game.