"It was unthinkable that we didn't get a win," said Ferguson. "To win it 4-0 was a bonus. We had a setback on Tuesday but we have recovered from that and got ourselves into another semi-final. That is exciting for the club and you could tell from the volume of our supporters how much it means to them."
He added: "It would be very easy to look upon Tuesday as a disappointment that takes us no further. You could look at it as putting us up against a brick wall but I believe it will only lead to better things. I think what happened in Milan will prove to be the start of a long road to future success in Europe. We are not far away now and I firmly believe this team will get that success in the future."