Sir Alex Ferguson saluted Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester United winger’s two-goal blast against Arsenal in Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal sent the holders back to the final with a 3-1 win on the night and 4-1 on aggregate.
Ronaldo was at his formidable best at the Emirates Stadium as the Portugal winger set up United’s opener for Park Ji-Sung and then embarrassed Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia with a blistering
free-kick.
Not content with that, Ronaldo started and finished the move of the match in the 61st minute to put the result beyond doubt and seal United’s place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona.
”I thought they couldn’t handle Ronaldo. That made a big difference,” Ferguson said.
”The midfield was working its socks off, we had good shape and the defensive positions were covered but we needed someone to give them real problems and Ronaldo in that form, he’s a fantastic player.
”We weren’t overcome by Arsenal’s start to the game — they were moving and the crowd were going but we kept playing our football. Once we transferred the ball to Ronaldo, it was a big problem for them.
”We got a good start and that made the difference. Two quick goals like that against a young team, I don’t think, wherever you play, you can recover from that. It was a mountain to climb, especially as it was 1-0 from the first game.
”The third goal was marvellous. At that point, Arsenal were throwing everything forward and we caught them really. The speed of the play was fantastic.”
The only dark cloud over United’s triumph was Darren Fletcher’s late red card for a foul on Cesc Fabregas, which rules the Scotland midfielder out of the final.
Italian referee Roberto Rosetti awarded the penalty for Fletcher’s challenge even though he appeared to take the ball first.
”He’s disappointed and he should be. He’s one of the most honest players in the game and to miss the final, it’s a tragedy,” Ferguson said.
”I haven’t spoken to the referee. I respect him. He may look at it himself but we shouldn’t ask him. He’s confident enough and fair enough to look at it himself, possibly. We can’t appeal and that’s disappointing for the boy.”
While Ferguson savoured a victory that added further lustre to an already glittering CV, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted his side’s defeat was the most disappointing moment of his career.
It was especially galling for Wenger that Arsenal were the authors of their own downfall as mistakes from teenage defender Kieran Gibbs and Almunia gifted United their first two goals.
”It’s the most disappointing defeat. The fans were up for a big night and to disappoint people, it hurts really,” Wenger said. ”The most difficult thing for me is that we have the feeling that we never played in the semifinal.
”We started quite well but the most disappointing thing was that the game was over before it started. That is hard to swallow.
”We can only look at ourselves. It’s very disappointing to fight such a long way and then to give the game away like we did.
”We don’t blame individuals but it’s like that. We conceded two in three minutes and that’s too much against a side that defends well and which likes to counter attack.”
Patrice Evra, United’s France left-back, rubbed salt into Wenger’s wounds as he claimed the tie had been a walkover.
”It was 11 men against 11 babies,” Evra said. ”If you look at their 11 players and our 11 we were better everywhere.
”We keep hearing that Arsenal play good football but that is not everything. You have to win titles, at Manchester we play good football and win titles.” – AFP
