Ferguson Fumes At Sloppy Man. U

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he was a relieved man after Manchester United made it through to the Champions League last eight by beating Inter Milan.

United won 2-0 but Ferguson said his players had made life difficult for themselves with some slapdash play.

"After scoring the first goal, I thought we'd kill them off," he said.

"I thought we could score a few goals but then we started doing flicks and back heels. We can play better than that but I am happy to get through it."

Centre-back Nemanja Vidic put United in front with a header but Inter regrouped to put the home side under pressure and saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic head into the ground and on to the crossbar.

Dejan Stankovic also missed a glorious chance for the visitors, and Ferguson was not impressed with some of the play he had to watch from his side.

"It was really reckless football and it allowed Inter Milan to get a grip of the game," he said.

"From the middle of the first half to the end of the first half they were the better team."

But Cristiano Ronaldo nodded in to give the Old Trafford side a 2-0 lead and, even though Adriano struck the post with a shot, United subsequently had little trouble securing their progress.

"We changed the system at half-time, closed the door on (Esteban) Cambiasso and we were a bit better in the second half," Ferguson added.

"We played a team at its maximum, potential-wise with all the experience they have. And they played to their maximum."

United are one of four Premier League teams in the quarter-finals, along with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Spanish clubs Barcelona and Villarreal plus Germany's Bayern Munich and Portuguese outfit Porto are the other teams through to the next round, with the draw set to take place on Friday, 20 March.

"It has been obvious for three years that the Premier League has the upper hand," said Ferguson.

"But I am only happy for Manchester United because we had the hardest draw.

"We can play better than that and I am sure we will be better in the next round."

Vidic said his side had allowed a touch of anxiety to creep into their play after his early goal.

"We started well and played well until I scored my goal, and then after we looked a little bit nervous," said Vidic.

"I agree we played better in Milan without getting the win than we did in this game which we won."

He added: "The manager told us before the game not to play defensively, to go out and score goals, and we did that.

"We knew if we conceded then it would have been difficult because Italian teams play tactically very well and it becomes hard to score against them."