London: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has pointed the finger of blame at Nani after his side’s 5-4 defeat to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup.
The visitors took the lead three times at Stamford Bridge and were 3-2 up with minutes of normal time remaining when Nani lost the ball, which ultimately led to Chelsea winning a penalty which Eden Hazard converted to take the tie to extra-time.
The Blues then went on to win the game 5-4 and Sir Alex insisted his side only had themselves to blame for not sealing victory.
“Well we gave the ball away for the third goal when we had complete control of the match at that point, playing really good football,” he told Sky Sports.
“All we needed to do was see the game out and keep possession. Nani decided to try and beat a man and lost the ball, and then it was a penalty kick. I don’t know if it was a penalty kick or not. I think at that point our young players started to feel it and it was very difficult in extra time.
“Nani is experienced, he’s an individual, he’s a player who wants to beat men and we are not going to discourage that but in that situation if he had kept the ball in the corner flag, the game’s over.”
Despite his disappointment at the defeat, the United manager did have time to praise his players, particularly Ryan Giggs who scored twice for the visitors.
“I think some of our football was terrific. I think in Ryan Giggs you have a player of unbelievable proportions in terms of playing 120 minutes at 39 years of age, next month. It’s a credit to himself, it`s an example to everyone on that pitch including the Chelsea players,” he added.
“It`s disappointing, we had to gamble in terms of the young centre backs. Its not easy, you can always go with playing young forwards in games of this magnitude but playing young central defenders away from home, its going to be a difficult night for them and so it proved.
"We had control of the game, they had a lot of attacks, but nothing really came of them and our counter attack was very good.”
"But if you’re winning 3-2 at the end of the game you really should see it out. We only have ourselves to blame really."
Goal.com
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.