Sir Alex expresses his pride
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Article summary
Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted after a perfect outcome on his landmark night.
Article body
Sir Alex Ferguson, United manager
It was an excellent performance, the second half was especially good. The confidence and rhythm is coming back now. There was a quality to the game and Lyon played a fantastic part in a great match. We were fantastic as Lyon are very difficult opponents. They are a very good side, undefeated this season, and it always takes a lot to beat a side like that. Gary Neville was showing signs of a virus and I was about to take him off when he scored, which was good luck. Van Nistelrooij was fantastic again. Roy Carroll has always been very consistent for us. Goalkeepers can make mistakes, and it hasn't affected him. There was not any pressure this evening, but certainly I hoped that everything would fall right for us. Although I was a bit nervous I had to keep telling myself that it was the previous 999 games that mattered. The fans' reaction was terrific and I am proud of them. The club gave me a beautiful gift - a magnum of wine. Sometimes finishing second in the group does not matter, so I will make team changes in the last game.
Paul Le Guen, Lyon coach
I am upset by the result but not by the way we played. We played good attacking football, and we pushed forward and gave ourselves some good attacking opportunities. We can learn from Manchester United. If we can take something for the future, I liked the way we organised ourselves. Even in the last ten minutes we got forward well, and got past Manchester United on a few occasions. Losing to Manchester United is nothing to be ashamed of, but it is important to regain first place in the group. I think Manchester United deserved to win the game and I want to say well done to them. They get a lot of encouragement from the crowd, and have a good mixture of individuals in their team.
Click here for a full explanation of the state of play in Groups A-D.