The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United should be thankful for their solitary point against their Greek opponents Panathinaikos in the UEFA Champions League.
The United boss was saved by a Paul Scholes equaliser late in the game but admitted that his side could easily have lost the game.
Warnings were abound before the game that Panathinaikos were not the
same team when backed by their home supporters and the performance from United did little to combat the more confident Greek outfit.
After the Athens clash, Ferguson openly admitted that his team had been somewhat fortunate to have come away with a draw from the Greek capital.
The Reds boss made it clear that he was aware that a similar performance in the knock-out stages could be fatal to United's chances of bringing the trophy back to England for a second time in three years.
"I think we started badly and never got going," he admitted.
"Once they scored we were far too loose and we didn't show much patience about ourselves in that respect.
"In the second half we gambled a lot with the consequence that we could have had a real spanking, a real beating."
However, he was pleased that United's famous never-say-die spirit didn't desert them.
"You always hope a goal will come and the one quality we have always had is the ability to keep going and never give in.
"But I think that is the only thing I can take out of this game and a draw was very fortunate for us."
Ferguson, with only this season and the 2001-2002 campaign in which to win the trophy again before stepping down as United boss, singled out one player who kept the English champions hopes alive in the game.
French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez produced save after save to limit the Greeks to just a one-goal advantage before Scholes arrived on the scene.
Ferguson said: "I think he proved he's the finest goalkeeper in the world.
"It was quite amazing the saves he made and he's the reason why we got a point out of it."
United can now afford to lose 2-0 to Sturm Graz in their final game in the Champions League second group stage at Old Trafford and still qualify for the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive year.
|
