Defiant Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson backed his men to mount another famous fightback against Bayern Munich after watching them lose 1-0 at Old Trafford last night. Substitute Paulo Sergio struck the winning goal with five minutes remaining to leave United facing an uphill task in the return leg on April 18.
But United memorably turned the tables on Bayern - winning the 1999 final 2-1 with two late goals after trailing 1-0 - and Ferguson is confident they can score in Munich.
“We're not out of it because we've got the ability to go there and get a goal - and if we score a goal the game's turned over,” said Ferguson. “It's just disappointing because I thought we played well enough to win it. The goal was a bad one to lose. I'd need to see the replay, but it looked like a terrible one to lose.”
Alexander Zickler, another Bayern substitute had already come close to scoring before Sergio's goal. Zickler also volleyed over when presented with a clear chance at the death.
“We didn't do as well in the second half as we did in the first, and they did improve in the second half,” conceded Ferguson. “Zickler came on and gave them some energy up front, and they worked very hard.”
Ferguson drew comfort from the bookings which have ruled Bayern duo Bixente Lizarazu and Hasan Salihamidzic out of the return leg - but United did not escape unscathed with David Beckham's yellow card ensuring he too misses the Munich match.
“They've got a couple of important players missing - Lizarazu is a very good player, and so is Salihamidzic - but at the end of the day we'll just have to make sure that we go there and perform properly,” added Ferguson. (PA)
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
