Fergie – Fantastic final

Sir Alex Ferguson is predicting a ‘fantastic’ final when Manchester United meet Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

The Red Devils booked their place in the 28th May showpiece at Wembley with a 6-1 aggregate destruction of sorry Schalke, triumphing 4-1 at Old Trafford in the second leg with goals from Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson and Anderson’s brace.

Ferguson made a host of changes to his starting XI with one eye firmly on Sunday’s crucial Premier League showdown with Chelsea and was not disappointed by the display of his squad players.

Wembley holds special memories for both United and Barca as it is the venue where both clubs lifted their first European Cup, in 1968 and 1992, respectively, and the clash is a repeat of the 2009 showdown in Rome, which the Catalan club won 2-0.

“I think it will be a fantastic final. It is some weeks ahead and I hope we have everyone ready,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.

Ultimate

“This is the best competition in the world, all the best teams are there. To get to the final is an achievement itself, but to win it is the ultimate.”
Sir Alex Ferguson Quotes of the week

“The big advantage this time as opposed to two of our previous finals is that we have no players missing. In ’99 we missed Roy Keane and Paul Scholes and in 2009 we missed Darren Fletcher.

“We’ve got everyone available this time and that does make a difference.

“This is the best competition in the world, all the best teams are there. To get to the final is an achievement itself, but to win it is the ultimate.”

Ferguson must now immediately switch his focus to Sunday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford where victory for the Blues would see them take over at the top of the table on goal difference with just two games remaining.

Last season saw United suffer a crucial home defeat to the West London club just days after crashing out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich, and the Scot has promised it will be a different story this time.

Go for it

He said: “The problem for us last year was emotional tiredness. The first half against Chelsea we didn’t play well and Chelsea were the better team.

“This time, we are fresh, we have won this game, we are in the final at Wembley and we are going to go for it on Sunday.”

Despite saluting the players on duty against Schalke, there is every chance that Ferguson will make sweeping changes again at the weekend, with Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney all held back.

But the Red Devils boss had nothing but praise for the performance of his understudies and was also keen to highlight the qualities of Ralf Rangnick’s outclassed Bundesliga troops.

He concluded: “The attitude was fantastic. Schalke played much better than they did last week. The thing about German teams is they never give in, and that’s a quality that we have.”