Manchester United FC

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Fergie plays down Euro defeat

26 Nov 2009 - 08:26:46

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Sir Alex Ferguson shrugged off the disappointment of losing a proud club record after Manchester United lost 1-0 at home to Besiktas in the Champions League.

United's first defeat at Old Trafford in 23 European matches means they still need a point from their final game against Wolfsburg to ensure they progress to the last 16 as group winners.

Ferguson rung the changes with Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, Gabriel Obertan and Darron Gibson all handed rare starts.

But despite dominating possession for vast periods of the game, United lost out to a deflected 20th minute strike from Rodrigo Tello.

"I think we were a bit anxious but it's not a bad thing," said Ferguson.

"They're young and you expect them to make mistakes. It was a strong showing in terms of the flow of the game.

"We've shown some really good things tonight. That's encouraging but at the end of the day we just didn't get the result we needed."

However, Ferguson still aimed an angry blast at the referee after substitute Patrice Evra was denied what looked like clear penalty late in the game when he was sent tumbling in the box by Ibrahim Kas.

"It's a penalty kick," he claimed. "That's two games in a row they have denied us stonewall penalties but what can you do about it?"