Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he will rest some of his big names in the club's remaining Champions League first phase fixtures.
United qualified from Group F last night with a 3-2 win over Olympiakos, and only need a point to qualify as group winners. This means that Ferguson can afford to play a weaker team against Maccabi Haifa next week and in the final game against Bayer Leverkusen at Old Trafford.
"It's good that we have got a place in the second stage because it means we can make changes next week," said the United boss. "The players who performed tonight are the same ones who have performed for most of the season.
"We have not been in a position, or had the luxury to change the team around, which has been a feature of our selections over the last few years. Next Tuesday we now have an opportunity to do it."
Ferguson started his resting policy a little early last night, replacing David Beckham and Ryan Giggs with Luke Chadwick and Quinton Fortune just after Juan Sebastian Veron had put United 2-0 up. Minutes later, the Greek side drew level, with two impressive individual efforts, and only a Paul Scholes goal restored the lead which had earlier looked so secure.
"It was pretty worrying when we conceded the second because we had been in a position of control," said Ferguson. "Luke and Quinton badly need first-team football but it almost backfired on us.
"We gave the ball away in midfield for the first goal, which gave Olympiakos a lift. Then they changed their formation to give them more pace up front and it helped them get a second.
"Fortunately, we managed to get some control back into our play because we had been in a comfortable position before that, so we are really thankful to Paul Scholes for getting us out of trouble."
Ferguson believes there are many teams, other than his own, who have a good chance of winning the Champions League this year.
"The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Juventus and AC Milan are all looking like winners," he said. "But ourselves and Arsenal are also playing well, so I don't think you can just focus on one team."
|
