Fergie hails United defence
18 Jan 2009 - 09:19:23
Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the 'miracle' work of his defence after Manchester United equalled a Premier League record for clean sheets with their 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers.
The Red Devils were again without Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra at the Reebok Stadium but equalled Chelsea's record of ten consecutive clean sheets set during their title-winning 2004-05 campaign with another strong defensive display.
Dimitar Berbatov's last-minute winner secured the points and sent United to the top of the table for the first time this season but, after the full-time whistle, Ferguson was full of praise for his defence.
"The back four has performed miracles in recent weeks and it's a great achievement," he told MUTV.
"Nemanja Vidic's performances have been absolutely magnificent and we were delighted to get Jonny Evans fit for this game because he's maturing with every match he plays.
"The two of them have been fantastic in the last few matches and we've had a very good spell defensively.
"By the time we get to the Everton game (on 2 Feburary) I think we'll have both Rio (Ferdinand) and Wes (Brown) back from injury which will be a big bonus to us."
Meanwhile, Ferguson admitted he was relieved to leave the Reebok Stadium with all three points after Berbatov's last-gasp strike.
He added: "Late goals are always special and we're delighted to get another one today.
"It's never easy against Bolton - they're a very difficult side to beat. They're professional, organised and have a real grittiness about them.
"Their goalkeeper kept them in the game with a string of fantastic saves and I was starting to say to myself 'it's not going to be.'"