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Premiership best league in Europe says Ferguson
LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said the English Premiership was the best league in Europe following his side's thrashing of AS Roma and the prospect of three semi-finalists in the Champions League.
The 1999 champions booked their place in the last four alongside Chelsea and almost certainly Liverpool by routing the Italians 7-1 on the day, 8-3 on aggregate.
Michael Carrick (two), Cristiano Ronaldo (two), Wayne Rooney, Alan Smith and Patrice Evra got the goals on a magical night at Old Trafford to set up a showdown against either AC Milan or Bayern Munich.
United manager Ferguson said: "The fact that three English teams should be in the semi-finals probably makes our league the best in Europe. Six or seven years ago Spanish football was the best.
"But on the evidence of this season Barcelona and Real Madrid are not as near to where they were in previous years. The competitive nature and the quality of the English game has improved over the seasons."
Carrick's goal after 11 minutes set the tone and it was United's biggest win in Europe since 1968 when they defeated Republic of Ireland side Waterford by a similar margin.
Ferguson said: "We never expected to win 7-1 but the quality of our game was so high. It was a fantastic performance. Our speed of play and penetration was superb.
"It was a special night and every one of our goals were quality. We did our job against a very good team. The early goal gave us the confidence to go at Roma and that's absolutely the best night of European football we've had here. The scoreline tells you that."
Ferguson believes some of his young players are beginning to feel more comfortable in the European arena. He said: "The experience of playing AC Milan a couple of years ago was a disappointment, knowing we could have played better.
"Ronaldo and Rooney found it difficult but against Roma they were men."
Ferguson had special words of praise for former Leeds striker Smith, whose progress has been hampered by injury. He said: "It is fantastic for him. He deserves it more than anyone.
"His attitude to play football is wonderful. He has got enthusiasm that spreads throughout the team and he trains like a beast."
United went into the game on the back of losing to Portsmouth at the weekend as well as Roma in the first leg, and Ferguson was delighted at the mental attitude of his side.
He said: "We've had two bad results but all great teams get over those mishaps. Recovery is the thing and we recovered against Roma."
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was left shellshocked after seeing his side dismantled with a goal from Daniele De Rossi scant consolation. He said: "No-one imagined this performance. We suffered from a lack of experience. The first goal changed the face of the game. We lost our shape and played into their hands.
"The surprising thing was we had a similar amount of shots to United but every one of theirs seemed to find the corner of our net. We have played many good matches this season but we got it badly wrong in this one.
"We made a lot of mistakes and got punished heavily for them. We ended up chasing the game. But Manchester United deserved victory because of the way they played."
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