Sir Alex: We Are Reaching A Peak

United's ultra-professional victory over Schalke has Sir Alex Ferguson brimming with confidence as he braces himself for a crucial week in the life of Manchester United.

The return leg of the Champions League semi-final, at Old Trafford next Wednesday night, is sandwiched between two games that will all but decide the destiny of the domestic league title. The Reds are ready for all of them, insists Sir Alex, as he reflects on a job well done in Germany.

"The players are relishing these games," said Sir Alex. "I think we're coming to a peak.

"There was a fantastic atmosphere (inside Schalke's Veltins-Arena) tonight but it never bowed our players once. They kept on playing their football, showing confidence and trust in one another.

"Our concentration, the intensity of our play and the speed of our passing were all excellent tonight.

"It was a top performance. I'm really pleased with the players, every one of them has done fantastically well tonight."

A measure of United's domination is that the best individual display on the night was arguably that of the Schalke goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer - a young man often linked in the press with a move to Old Trafford. He's reportedly bound for Bayern Munich now - "I think we know that" said Sir Alex - but he'll head there with confirmed admirers in Manchester.

"He was fantastic. It was one of the best performances I've seen against Manchester United," added the boss.

"(At half-time) I was cursing myself for mentioning the Dortmund semi-final and all the one-on-ones we had (in my pre-match interview). But we've got more experience now than we had then (in 1997)."

Neuer was effectively a one-man wall in the first half, thwarting Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs on numerous occasions to maintain parity at the end of the one-sided period.

"The funny thing was that when Chicharito 'scored' (early in the second half) but he was offside, it told the players they could beat this goalkeeper! Of course, Ryan scored and then Wazza did. It's a marvellous result."