Defiant Manchester United FC forward Cristiano Ronaldo has vowed to make amends in the second leg of his side's UEFA Champions League semi-final against FC Barcelona after missing a penalty in Wednesday's goalless draw at the Camp Nou.
Ronaldo fired wide from the spot in the third minute after Gabriel Milito had handled his header in the area, but he took the disappointment in his stride. "Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't," he said. "I missed a penalty - no problem. I'll try to score in Manchester. I'm always confident. I have 38 goals this season. It is not a problem if I miss one or two. I try to do my best in every game.
Ronaldo's team-mates rallied around the Portuguese forward. "What can you say about Cristiano Ronaldo? How many important goals has he scored?" defender Patrice Evra said. "I think for the return he will score one, maybe two goals." Wayne Rooney added: "He's an unbelievable player. His record speaks for itself. All the great players have missed penalties so let's not worry about it."
But Liverpool goalkipper Pepe Reina concluding that Cristiano Ronaldo made a huge error with his missed penalty. Pepe Reina told the Spanish sports daily, "Ronaldo always shoots his penalties to the left. The other day, against Arsenal, he had to re-take a penalty but took both the same way - low and to to the left. Faced with Barcelona, he hit it high and right.
"He wanted to surprise, but to change his style was wrong." (*)
source: uefa and goal
photo: gettyimages
Ronaldo missing a penalty
Rio injury worry for United
Rio Ferdinand has given Sir Alex Ferguson another defensive headache after leaving the Riverside with his foot in a protective cover following Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.
US can not afford to lose time for Ferdinand with fellow centre-back Nemanja Vidic out for three weeks and some crucial matches ahead in the Premier League and the Champions League.
The draw with Boro saw United just three points ahead of Chelsea, and they face Arsenal next weekend before going to Stamford Bridge on 26 April.
Ferdinand limped off during the match and left the stadium with his foot in a plastic casing, as a precautionary measure.
Ferguson said: "We hope that it is not serious in Rio, but he was limping for too long.
"The danger was to keep practising with him when he was limping, he was not playing to its full level of performance."
It seems unlikely that Ferdinand will play in the Champions League second leg against Roma, especially with Gerard Pique impressive Ferguson replacing the England defender.
"Pique came on and did absolutely brilliant, it was absolutely wonderful, and I think that really helped us," said Ferguson.
United had taken the lead at a frigid courtesy of Riverside Cristiano Ronaldo's 37th goal of the season, but two goals from Brazilian striker Afonso Alves put Boro ahead.
It has been left at the end of Wayne Rooney deflected effort to ensure a share of the spoils - and Ferguson admitted United had flirted with defeat.
He added: "We could have lost the game there is no doubt they have some chances and the defence of our time was somewhat haphazard, I think.
"But at other times, we could have won the game because some of the quality of our football was fantastic.
"At 1-0 we looked very strong and controlled the match and Wayne Rooney was unlucky to be given offside when he was clear through - it was not out Thursday
"They changed back to the 4-4-2 formation obtained an equaliser and I thought it was a great football game after that. It was end to end and both teams deserve a lot of credit for the production of a football game like that at this time of the year.
"At times we played fantastic football but in the context of the game Middlesbrough has also produced some great moments and it was just a fantastic game."
Ferguson insisted United have shown that they will keep fighting every inch of the way for the title.
He said: "The nature of the club is that we never give in and that's a great quality to have at this time of year.(*)
Evra preaches caution
Patrice Evra insists United cannot bank on a place in the Champions League semi-finals, despite establishing a healthy advantage over Roma in Tuesday's quarter-final, first leg.
2-0 away win makes the Reds favourites to book a semi-final berth against either Barcelona or Schalke, but Evra insists there is still plenty of work to be done in next week’s second leg.
“We’re very happy with that performance but there’s still a second game to think about,” the defender told MUTV. “In football you never know but we’re very satisfied with our position.
“I think the team played very well and we did a very professional job. It’s now important we stay professional and hopefully we’ll get through to the semi-final.”
United registered a valuable clean sheet despite the loss of Nemanja Vidic through injury, and Evra felt the display of substitute John O’Shea underlined the Reds’ strength in depth.
“It was important to keep a clean sheet and we did our job. We have a big squad and John O’Shea showed how strong it is when he came on and filled in for Nemanja. We have confidence in whoever plays.”
source: manutd.com
Ronaldo: We Really Want To Win This
scored the second to practically seal the tie.
"Yes, [it was] a very good performance," said Ronaldo, speaking on ITV after the game. "Everyone knows Roma are a good team. It was a tough game, they played very well. But we got some chances and scored, and that was the difference."
Speaking of his own goal - his 36th of the season, he said: "It was a good header, and I feel very happy because I scored and helped the team win. We needed to win. Now the next game is at
home and we need to win again."
It took some rugged defending, though, and the winger also pointed towards the collective effort, and towards the desire to win the competition. "Yes, everyone did their part in this game,"
he said. "This is good competition. We really want to win it, and we showed that."
Rooney hails solid backline
Despite the loss of Nemanja Vidic through injury just after the half-hour, the defence stood firm as they recorded their 23rd clean sheet in 37 games and their fifth on the trot. "The defence was brilliant and all season they've been the same so hopefully that will continue," Rooney told Uefa.com.
"I thought we defended well as a team. It was important to try to keep a clean sheet and then hopefully nick a goal and we did that just before half-time and it put us in a good position in the second half.
"We knew Roma would come out and attack us and it created a bit of space for us. We had the two counterattacks and made them count."