Leeds stepped into the rarefied air of the Champions League last night - but their dream of slaying one of European football's giants was shattered by the sheer breathtaking brilliance of Barcelona.

It was men against boys as manager David O'Leary watched his side torn apart during what must have been 90 minutes of torture as he stood on the sidelines of the magnificent Nou Camp

O'Leary had revealed just how much Barcelona both the club and city has become such a special place over the years, but his love affair with the Catalan capital only led to heartbreak on a balmy Spanish evening.

The 42-year-old Irishman had claimed when the draw was made his side would need a miracle to beat the might of Barcelona and another of their Group H opponents in AC Milan.

Given there is a chapel near to the dressing rooms in the heart of one of football's cathedrals, it would not have been surprising if O'Leary had paid a visit to say a prayer.

But there was no angel sitting on his shoulder in this game as Barcelona produced a serene performance, with Rivaldo the genius to which Leeds had no answer.

O'Leary had earlier eulogised about the world player of the year, and it was the Brazilian superstar who pulled the strings as Leeds played second fiddle to new Barca coach Llorenc Serra Ferrer's side.

United had audaciously attempted to gain an early advantage over Barcelona following Tuesday night's training session at the Nou Camp.

United officials believed the pitch inside the stadium to be bigger than regulation size, which led to a request to the UEFA delegate Sweden's Lars-Ake Lagrell for a measurement.

Leeds' suspicions were confirmed, forcing Barca to reduce the width of the pitch by five feet either side, giving wingers Marc Overmars and Portuguese flyer Simao less room to work with.

But it made no difference as Simao was the provider for the opening goal in the 10th minute as Leeds suffered a nightmare start to the game.

Rivaldo skilfully evaded the scything challenge of Michael Duberry in collecting Simao's piercing ball before beating Nigel Martyn with a precision left-foot shot from 15 yards.

The goal, Rivaldo's third in two games after scoring both in the 2-1 season-opening Primera Liga win over Malaga, electrified the 85,000 crowd.

Worse was to follow for Leeds after Dani had somehow drilled Overmars' perfect by-line pass over the bar from eight yards, with free-kick specialist Frank de Boer setting the game alight.

Olivier Dacourt's foul on Gerard set up the Holland star as he thundered home a spectacular 25-yarder over the United wall and into the top left hand corner as Martyn had no chance.

How Barcelona failed to add to that tally again until the 75th minute will remain a mystery as their pace and movement was too much for Leeds to handle.

But a look at the teams' benches underlined how much injuries had hit O'Leary's plans hard, but also just how far Leeds are yet to travel if they are to compete on a regular basis with the likes of Barcelona.

Internationals Michael Reiziger, Alfonso and Emmanuel Petit were available, while Leeds in contrast had three players yet to make their debuts in Danny Hay, Jacob Burns and Tony Hackworth, and another in Gareth Evans with just two sub appearances to his name.

O'Leary was without Jason Wilcox, Harry Kewell, David Batty, Jonathan Woodgate and Eirik Bakke, and it showed against a Barcelona side which had undergone a drastic summer of change, with coach Louis van Gaal sacked and Jose Luis Nunez leaving after 22 years as president.

Promoted was Serra Ferrer from coaching co-ordinator, with Joan Gaspart taking over the presidency, leading to a number of ins and outs within the squad.

The most significant was the high-profile departure of Luis Figo for a world-record £37million to bitter rivals Real Madrid, with Ronald de Boer and Winston Bogarde also leaving to Rangers and Chelsea respectively.

But with the cash Serra Ferrer was able to spend £30million on former Arsenal duo Overmars and Petit, as well as signing Spanish international midfielder Gerard for £13million from Valencia.

The transition appeared seamless as Barcelona continued to create chance after chance before two goals in the final 15 minutes from Patrick Kluivert gave the scoreline a realistic look given the home side's dominance.

The Holland international first stepped inside Duberry to meet another Simao cross in the 75th minute, with Martyn only helping the ball on its way into the net.

Then nine minutes later the Dutch striker took a pass from Ivan de la Pena on in the 65th minute for Dani in his stride and after turning away from Leeds skipper Lucas Radebe he then delivered a scintillating strike.

The game then ended in an even more unpleasant fashion for Leeds as South African international Radebe was taken off in the 89th minute following a collision with Duberry as they both went for a high ball.

Radebe lay motionless for several minutes, surrounded by players from both sides and it was clear he was in trouble, before finally leaving the field with a neck brace.

It was a sad end to a bitter experience for Leeds.

l Arsenal's Brazilian star Silvinho thanks God and Arsene Wenger for a sudden burst of glorious goals.

The tiny 26-year-old defender is a deeply religious man who prays every day as he is required by the Evangelical Church, of which he and his family are members.

On Tuesday night in the Czech Republic his astonishing individual strike which sealed a 1-0 win over Sparta Prague was manna from heaven for Arsenal at the start of their latest Champions League programme.

It was also Silvinho's fourth goal in seven starts and his third in a row this season - not bad for a left-back who hardly ever scored at all in his native Brazil.

''God must be helping me a lot because I'm a defender and not really supposed to score goals,'' he said.

''My religion means a lot to me and gives me hope. My hope now is that I can keep scoring. Why not? With God's help anything is possible.'