Fergie defends Ronaldo omission

ALEX FERGUSON has defended his decision to leave Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez on the bench at Stamford Bridge and revealed the Barcelona game took precedence.

PFA Player of the Year Ronaldo, who has weighed in with 38 goals, came on in the second half but was unable to change the face of the game. Ferguson said: “Given we had played Barcelona on a Wednesday there was no way I could play the same team at Chelsea. I have to give my team the best possible chance of getting to the Champions League final.

“This club should have had more success in Europe, so it was very easy for me to make those changes on Saturday.”