Fergie delighted to reach final

Boss beams as United down Barca at Old Trafford

By James Dall   Last updated: 30th April 2008

Alex Ferguson Manchester United Champions League Football Barcelona

Ferguson: Heading to Moscow

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with his side's performance as they secured their place in the UEFA Champions League final.

A first-half goal from Paul Scholes was enough for United as they defeated Barcelona 1-0 on aggregate to set up an all-English final against either Chelsea or Liverpool.

Barca enjoyed the majority of the possession, however Ferguson's men replicated their impressive defending from the first leg to restrict their opponents' goalscoring opportunities and space.

And Ferguson, who has confirmed that Scholes will start May's final in Moscow, has hailed his resolute side, labelling the performance as 'fantastic'.

Delighted

"We needed a fantastic performance tonight, and I think we got one," he said on Sky Sports News.

"Several things won us the game: the concentration at the back, we protected the space really well and with our play up front we could have scored three or four goals.

"I thought we were too nervous in the first half. In the second half I thought we played with far more conviction and belief in ourselves.

"Towards the end of the game, at 1-0 down, the opponents had a go. We were very glad we got through that spell in the last 15 minutes. We had to hang on a bit.

"They didn't make any chances, which was down to the defending. I am delighted."

Philosophy

Ferguson was also full of praise for Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona, saluting the club's footballing ethos.

He added: "I knew it was going to be a long night. I think we played a fantastic football club with a great philosophy and a good team.

"Their manner at the end of the game was terrific. It's not easy to beat a team like Barcelona because they play fantastic football."