Boss Enjoys Gain In Spain

Sir Alex Ferguson saluted the contribution of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez following United's smash and grab victory in Valencia.

With the Champions League Group C game heading towards stalemate, the young Mexican substitute stunned the partisan crowd with an 85th-minute strike to give the Reds only a second win in 18 away games against Spanish opposition.

Sir Alex said: "I think what Chicharito did was he brought us penetration. Just before he scored he made a great run in behind their defence and that was what we needed at that stage of the game.

“This is a great result for us as it is not easy to come here. We have a bad record over a long period in Spain but nevertheless it was good to win.

“In the second half we certainly improved, we had more penetration about us. When you come here you have to be solid at the back and I don’t think Valencia made any great chances in the match. That said, they always posed a threat because they play good football and they get a lot of players in the box.”

With little over 10 minutes of normal time left, the boss opted for youth by introducing Chicharito and Federico Macheda to the action. His changes paid off handsomely for the Reds, as Anderson and Dimitar Berbatov took a well-earned breather.

The United manager said: “It was Anderson’s first game back for a long time playing at that level so he had to come off at some point and Berbatov did a great job in terms of the work he put in. The changes suited us in terms of energy and speed.”

Sir Alex was talking to ITV.