MANCHESTER UNITED manager Alex Ferguson believes his side are now well on course for the Champions League knock-out stages after edging past CSKA Moscow last night.
With three games still remaining, Ferguson hopes his side can now secure their passage with something to spare.
Ferguson said: “We are very pleased with our performance. The situation in the group is now nine points. I have always maintained that you need 10 to qualify.
“We now have a home game against CSKA in two or three weeks’ time which we hope can take us to the next stage.”
Ferguson felt his team had produced a professional performance on the Luzhniki Stadium’s artificial pitch.
He added: “In the first half I think we played with a lot patience, which is necessary when you are playing away from home.
“Experience in these sort of situations is always vital. In the second half I think we increased the tempo of the game and got more penetration.
“We created some good goal opportunities and if we have to wait to the 86th minute, so be it. We had to have the patience to win, and we did that.”
Ferguson had no complaints about the artificial pitch.
“I said before the game that if you’re a good footballer you concentrate on the ball. I think they did that and they did it well,” said Ferguson. “We wanted to go for a surge through the middle rather than in the wide positions and I think that worked quite well.
“We had some good chances at the end of the day, we improved our goalscoring chances and we’re pleased Antonio Valencia has got a good goal.”
Ferguson, who had half an eye on Sunday’s bit Premier League meeting with Liverpool, played down a potential injury to Brazilian teenager Fabio, as well as Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes, who both came off in the second half.
“Fabio was absolutely outstanding today, the boy’s magnificent for 18 years of age,” he added. “He’s first-class, he just had some cramp, he’ll be okay. I took Rio and Scholesy off mainly as a precaution.”
Ferguson praised former Wigan star Valencia, who moments before his goal had rattled the crossbar.
“He has been the plus point for the last two weeks. He is settling into the club, his confidence is stronger and he has tremendous assets for a wee player – strength, balance, feet and a good crosser of the ball.
“The area he hadn’t shown was goalscoring ability. We said when we signed him this was his challenge to progress as a footballer. Now he has scored two in two games and that will help him.”
