Fergie gave Evans 'gentle advice'

Published Feb. 19, 2010 11:01 a.m. ET

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Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that Jonny Evans bore the brunt of his anger following Manchester United's disappointing first-half performance against AC Milan.

The Red Devils came from behind to beat the Rossoneri 3-2 at the San Siro on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League tie.

They went into half-time at 1-1 but had been on the back foot for much of the opening 45 minutes after an uncharacteristically poor display.

The defence looked shaky and Ferguson has now revealed that centre-back Evans received the full force of his fury.

"I was just giving him a bit of gentle advice," Ferguson said in the Daily Mail.

"Our whole back four were going to get it, but he's unfortunate he was the nearest defender to me.

"They had to compose themselves, that was the most important thing. After that, they settled and got very composed and got back to their normal game.

"The result was very different because of that."

Ferguson believes the atmosphere inside the stadium made it difficult for his players to settle in the early stages, while he concedes that he had also been affected.

"The one thing that's so amazing is that for the first 15 minutes I felt in shock, really in shock, because the atmosphere was unbelievable," he explained.

"Coupled with the noise when they scored, it unnerved me and it unnerved my players.

"No matter how much experience you have got, you get drawn into that cauldron of noise, and to get through that really did take a lot of courage."

Milan midfielder David Beckham had a quiet game against his former club after being asked to line up in a central role.

Ferguson admits that he had expected the England international to play on the wing.

"I was surprised that they played David in central midfield; I thought that they'd have played him wide right," he stated.