Ferguson pleased despite loss

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes his youthful side put up a ‘reasonable show’ despite their 1-0 loss to Galatasaray.

The English Premier League giants had already guaranteed their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League and Ferguson used the opportunity to field a young side with an average age of just 24.

Burak Yilmaz’s header sunk United in Istanbul but, while disappointed at conceding to a set-piece,

Ferguson was pleased with the performance of his experimental team.

“Their temperament was good, the crowd never affected us and I thought they put up a reasonable show,” he told Sky Sports after the game.

“Some of the possession was good. Some of the attacking play at times was good without finishing the game off with one or two opportunities in both halves.

“But when you lose a goal from a set-piece you are always going to be saying it’s a bad way to lose a goal.

“They had a few strikes from outside the box, which our goalkeeper dealt with well – other than that I thought we handled it OK.

“I think if there was one part of it we were going to worry about was set-pieces because they are a more experienced, stronger, bigger side and you expect them to cause you some problems at set-pieces.

“We handled it quite well throughout the match but we have lost a goal from a corner. It is not surprising because of the strength they have there but nonetheless to lose a goal from a corner kick is never easy to take.”

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim hailed his players after their victory and believes CFR Cluj’s victory over Sporting Braga made it an ideal Tuesday.

“This was the best scenario for us,” he told NTV Spor.

“We won against Manchester United and Cluj won against Braga. My team played fantastically. I congratulate all of them.

“Now we are guaranteed to finish in the top three. Beating a club like Manchester United is very important – it doesn’t matter that they didn’t bring their top players.

“The match was played with a high tempo. Our fans were perfect. They prepared a great show and the team repaid them with a win.”