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.
