MATCH REACTION

Last updated : 25 April 2007 By editor

Fergie, "We have an outstanding chance now. With the speed of our game, I believe we will score in Italy. Whether it will be enough I don't know. It will not be easy - but it will not be easy for them either. I don't think anyone expected us to fold when we fell behind but Kaka did have two chances to get a third for them, which he didn't take, and that gave us a lifeline. I told them at half-time to keep going and to keep playing at that speed as they would make a difference. There were mistakes and some bad decision-making from us in the final third but we also created some great football and we showed we have the quality to go on and win this tournament.


"We persevered, we kept playing our football, some of which was fantastic and we dominated the second half. We got hold of the game and the equaliser gave us the impetus to go on and win it. Some of the football we played was absolute quality. But you need a bit of luck on nights like this and I am delighted with the way we came back. The second goal gave us the incentive to push forward again and once we started to do that, there was only going to be one winner.


"I thought it was a terrific performance by us. Both teams played some great football, as we expected from Milan, although it was strange in a 3-2 game that there were some poor goals given away on both sides. The first goal came from a corner, then we lost two terrible goals."

Fergie was full of praise for Rooney after his double strike, "It was an incredible hit. He didn't take a touch on it, just hit it first time. It was a brilliant goal. On an occasion like tonight, we needed our big players to hit the heights."


Looking at the second leg next week, Fergie seemed hopeful that Ferdinand would recover in time to be involved, "If Rio doesn't make it, I do have the option of playing Darren Fletcher at right-back, although given the way he played tonight, I would prefer not to do that. I don't know if we'll have any defenders back for the San Siro. It will be too early for Vidic and hopefully Rio will improve. We have eight days to get Rio fit, and that is going to be crucial to us with Patrice Evra now missing as well."


Carlo Ancelotti, "Manchester United probably do have a slight advantage. We are disappointed about their winning goal because I felt we had the match pretty much in hand. It seemed we were going to get a good result but that goal has complicated matters. The game was over, it was a good result for us, but now it is going to be more difficult. This result suits Manchester United."


Ancelotti pointed to the injuries of Gattuso and Maldini as potential factors in the defeat, "It is difficult to say whether the result would have been the same if those two had stayed on the pitch but quite clearly, you are going to miss players of that experience. I feel disappointed because we gifted them the victory and a draw would have been the right result. We tired towards the end and didn't keep possession well.

"It's hard to take, because I thought we were the better team for 60 minutes."


Wayne Rooney on the special talent that is Paul Scholes, "I see him do it every day in training. He's brilliant. He is a joy to play with, a genius. It's a great feeling. It was a difficult match but when it got late we kept going. We knew the victory would make it a little bit easier for the away leg.

"And to get a goal in the last minute is a great feeling. It was fantastic. At 2-1 behind at half-time against a very good Milan team, we knew it would be difficult to get the win. The manager told us too keep pushing, keep going and we'll get the goals, and we did."


Giggs:


"It was always going to be tough. We didn't want to give away goals but we've got to go out there with confidence. With the second half in mind, we know that if we keep the tempo up and keep our shape we've got a great chance of creating chances. We'll probably have to defend better, but we're capable of doing that. It's going to be difficult, it always is going to the San Siro, but we've seen enough in the second half to show that we can go there and get a good result. If we keep our character and nerve then hopefully we will.


"We got off to a great start. Milan hit us with a bit of a sucker punch with the two goals, but in the second half
we kept playing our football, kept the intensity up and we're pleased to get the two goals. We wanted to keep a clean sheet, away goals are key in this competition. We didn't want to give away one goal, let alone two, so that knocked the stuffing out of us a little bit. In the second half we showed a lot of patience and character. We just felt that we could create chances by not panicking and keeping our shape, and that's what happened.


"We feel that we're going to create chances every time we go out. Milan are a quality team so when you get those chances you have to put them away, and we put most of them away. To score so late on showed great character and ended the game on a high.

"I don't think the injuries have fazed us really. Everyone who has come in has done a job brilliantly. That's what it's all about, using the squad this season. Darren Fletcher again tonight was outstanding, but that's what it's about. It's not about 11 players, it's about 20."


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