Ferguson's dismal night made worse as Ronaldo leaves future in doubt
Daniel Taylor in Rome
The Guardian, Thursday 28 May 2009
Article history
A dejected Cristiano Ronaldo at the final whistle in Rome Link to this video
Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his Manchester United team had been outplayed and condemned their "shoddy" defending on a night which ended with Cristiano Ronaldo reigniting fears over his future.
"We were well beaten, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about it now," said Ferguson. "There's a dis appointment in the performance, some individuals will feel it themselves when they look at how they played."
The United manager bemoaned his team's lack of possession, compounded by their poor use of the ball when they did get hold of it. "With the players we have, I would have expected better. You have to give credit to a very good Barcelona team because if they get in front they can make it very difficult for you to get the ball back. But it's difficult to put your finger on it. When we did get possession we didn't do enough with it.
"The disappointment is that we had to wait several minutes to get the ball off them but then, when we did get it, we didn't use it well enough. It was an off night. We found the mountain too big to climb after going a goal down. We knew before the game what a good football team they are and, after the first goal, they just kept possession. They have to be the best at what they do and it's credit to them that they play with that philosophy. They all want to play, they all want to take the ball – it was too much for us."
However, Ronaldo said the defeat was in part down to Ferguson's tactics. "We had 10 [good] minutes and then we never found ourselves again," he said. "The tactics were not good and everything went wrong." The forward also left his future open to doubt. Asked whether he would be at Old Trafford next season, he replied: "I don't know."
Ferguson was particularly disappointed about the manner in which Nemanja Vidic had allowed Samuel Eto'o to get past him for the opening goal. "Our whole season has been built on our defensive strength but they were very shoddy goals," said the United manager. "It has to be said that it was shoddy defending, particularly the first goal, which gave them a great boost.
"That goal was a killer for us. It was their first attack and it was a bad start for us. We had been confident and bright at the start but we got nervous after the goal. We had plenty of time to recover and had some half-chances in the second half but the crosses were disappointing. We weren't at our best. We didn't plan to concede that early but it's a fact and we didn't deal with it well enough. That's the story."
Daniel Taylor in Rome
The Guardian, Thursday 28 May 2009
Article history
A dejected Cristiano Ronaldo at the final whistle in Rome Link to this video
Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his Manchester United team had been outplayed and condemned their "shoddy" defending on a night which ended with Cristiano Ronaldo reigniting fears over his future.
"We were well beaten, the better team won and there's nothing we can do about it now," said Ferguson. "There's a dis appointment in the performance, some individuals will feel it themselves when they look at how they played."
The United manager bemoaned his team's lack of possession, compounded by their poor use of the ball when they did get hold of it. "With the players we have, I would have expected better. You have to give credit to a very good Barcelona team because if they get in front they can make it very difficult for you to get the ball back. But it's difficult to put your finger on it. When we did get possession we didn't do enough with it.
"The disappointment is that we had to wait several minutes to get the ball off them but then, when we did get it, we didn't use it well enough. It was an off night. We found the mountain too big to climb after going a goal down. We knew before the game what a good football team they are and, after the first goal, they just kept possession. They have to be the best at what they do and it's credit to them that they play with that philosophy. They all want to play, they all want to take the ball – it was too much for us."
However, Ronaldo said the defeat was in part down to Ferguson's tactics. "We had 10 [good] minutes and then we never found ourselves again," he said. "The tactics were not good and everything went wrong." The forward also left his future open to doubt. Asked whether he would be at Old Trafford next season, he replied: "I don't know."
Ferguson was particularly disappointed about the manner in which Nemanja Vidic had allowed Samuel Eto'o to get past him for the opening goal. "Our whole season has been built on our defensive strength but they were very shoddy goals," said the United manager. "It has to be said that it was shoddy defending, particularly the first goal, which gave them a great boost.
"That goal was a killer for us. It was their first attack and it was a bad start for us. We had been confident and bright at the start but we got nervous after the goal. We had plenty of time to recover and had some half-chances in the second half but the crosses were disappointing. We weren't at our best. We didn't plan to concede that early but it's a fact and we didn't deal with it well enough. That's the story."
