Neville wants an Italian break

Phil Neville has boldly claimed Manchester United would rather face one of the finest clubs in Serie A in the Champions League first knockout stage than take the seemingly easier route of German or French league opposition.

Failure to beat Fenerbahce in their final group game in Istanbul on Wednesday ensured United have a 60 per cent chance of landing Italian opposition when the last-16 draw is made in Nyon this day next week.

Juventus and AC Milan, currently first and second in the Italian league, plus sixth-placed Inter are all potential opponents, with Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco completing the quintet.

But rather than take a less troublesome route to the last eight, via German or French league opposition, Neville believes United would be better tackling the Italian challenge head on.

"We always like to play the big teams and they don't come much bigger than Juventus, AC Milan and Inter," he said. "Matches like those tend to bring out the best in us. We have been to these places before and won, so there is no reason why we can't do it again.

"We have always thrived on challenges like that and we know to win the Champions League you have to beat the biggest teams anyway.

"We don't seem to have had a really big tie for a long time but I think there is a good chance we will get one now - and that will be something to look forward to."

Neville's statement is backed up by recent form. While United have not met AC Milan in competitive combat since their 1969 semi-final encounter, they have had the better of recent clashes with both Juventus and Inter.

United's sole loss in their last six encounters with Juventus was a dead rubber in Turin seven seasons ago.

While the memory of the famous Roy Keane-inspired 3-2 semi-final win at the Stadio Delle Alpi one year later will never be forgotten, of more relevance is the 3-0 hammering United inflicted two years ago.

That victory, which saw Keane perform brilliantly at centre-half and Ryan Giggs' devastating display of wing wizardry, remains Juventus' biggest European defeat on home soil.

United's only previous confrontation with Inter came at the quarter-final stage in the treble-winning campaign when two Dwight Yorke goals in the first leg at Old Trafford proved too much for the Italians. Neville also realises that so-called easier draws have caught United out before. Last season United were defeated by eventual winners Porto. Neville admits the 1998 quarter-final elimination to Monaco and the semi-final exit to Bayer Leverkusen four years later will rank as two of the worst experiences of his time at the club.

"Those defeats were big disappointments and people thought we had an easy draw when we got Porto last year and they knocked us out," said Neville. "At this stage any opponent is going to be tough. I just think it would be nice to get a really big game."

Manchester United: Five potential knockout rivals

JUVENTUS (Played 12, Won 5, Drawn 2, Lost 5)

The team Alex Ferguson measures the development of his own side against more than any other in Europe.

Juventus turfed United out of the UEFA Cup in 1976 and the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup eight years later, then beat them twice in the group stage of the 1996/'97 Champions League.

Since then though, United have had the better of clashes between the two teams. A 3-2 win at Old Trafford in 1998 was seen as a seminal moment in United's European history.

One season later, Roy Keane inspired a miraculous recovery from 2-0 down in the Stadio Delle Alpi to send United into the final.

Two years ago, Juventus were beaten 2-1 at Old Trafford before United headed to Turin and with Ryan Giggs in sparkling form, sent the hosts spinning to a 3-0 defeat, their biggest home loss ever in European competition.

AC MILAN (Played 4 Won 2 Drawn 0 Lost 2)

The spectre of the Munich air disaster hung heavily over the 1958 semi-final clash.

Only four members of the United line-up were the same as the side which earned the last four place in Belgrade but amazingly the hosts scored a 2-1 first-leg win at Old Trafford.

Unfortunately, they were hammered 4-0 in the return and were denied a poignant final confrontation with Real Madrid.

Eleven years later, the teams met again at the same stage - and again the Italians came out on top as Bobby Charlton's Old Trafford winner proved insufficient to erase Milan's 2-0 first-leg triumph in what turned out to be Matt Busby's final foray into Europe.

INTER MILAN (Played 2 Won 1 Drawn 1 Lost 0)

The only previous meetings between the sides came at the quarter-final stage in 1999. With Ronaldo a pale shadow of himself, two Dwight Yorke goals proved enough to give United an unassailable 2-0 first-leg lead at Old Trafford, with a Paul Scholes effort securing a 1-1 draw - and a place in the last four - in the return.

MONACO (Played 2 Won 0 Drawn 2 Lost 0)

When United claimed a 0-0 drawn on opposition soil in the first leg of their quarter-final clash in 1998, it was hailed as an outstanding result and the prelude to a place in the semis. Unfortunately for Ferguson and his team, David Trezeguet scored a crowd-silencing fifth-minute opener at Old Trafford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer levelled not long after the break but, try as they might, United could not score again and they tumbled out on away goals.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN (Played 4 Won 2 Drawn 2 Lost 0)

When he looks back on his managerial career, Ferguson will reflect with disappointment on the opportunity that passed him by in 2002.

With a nostalgic return to Hampden Park only two games away, United were paired with the unfancied Germans at the semi-final stage. Three times in the tie, United went in front - and on each occasion they were pegged back.

Ultimately, the two goals Leverkusen scored at Old Trafford sent them through to face Real Madrid in Ferguson's home city and two comfortable wins over the Germans in the following season's first group stage only added to the frustration.