United’s spot of bother

Ronny: X marks the...doh!

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United have a great chance to win at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the return leg of their Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona.

Fergie’s men earned a respectable 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp and despite several nervous moments produced a solid display at the back.

‘We sealed off the areas where teams don't normally do well against Barcelona,’ said Fergie.

‘They didn't make a lot of chances. Going to Old Trafford at 0-0 we have a marvellous chance,’ said Sir Alex.

‘They had a lot of play around the box but our concentration was very good.

‘On the negative side we should have done better with possession. We had opportunities to counter-attack but gave the ball away too easily.

‘At Old Trafford we have to impose ourselves more and I think we will.’

Lionel Messi pulled the strings for Barca for an hour before being substituted after an impressive display. The Catalans had much of the possession but didn’t really produce any gilt-edged chances.

Things could have been very different if Cristiano Ronaldo had converted a third minute penalty after Gabriel Milto threw his hands in the air in the box to block the Portuguese striker’s header.

‘Maybe it came too early. It was the first minute of the match and he leaned back a bit’, said Fergie.

‘He's disappointed but nevertheless he was magnificent.’

United acquitted themselves well in particular the back four who had to adapt after Nemaja Vidic withdrew after a stomach complaint. Owen Hargreaves stepped in at right back and United kept the line superbly, marshalled by captain Rio Ferdinand.

Chances were few for United; there was a shout for a second penalty when Ronaldo was bundled over by Rafael Marquez.

Michael Carrick also had a great second half opportunity after creating space for himself in the Barca box he smashed his shot into the side-netting rather than squaring the ball.

United have every chance in the away leg but Lionel Messi is quickly regaining fitness and Thierry Henry who looked threatening as a second half substitute should feature predominantly at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese wing wizard will want to make amends for his penalty miss and he pledged to reward the United fans on Tuesday night.

‘I've scored a few penalties in that side but today I didn't score - no problem. Now I'm going to score in Manchester,’ said a confident Ronaldo.

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