We were turkeys until Bursaspor win — Evra
Eight Barclays Premier League games at the start of the campaign yielded just three wins and five draws, the last of those seeing United fritter away a two-goal lead against West Brom at Old Trafford.
Four days later United unconvincingly defeated Turkish outfit Bursaspor in the Champions League group phase, the victory completely overshadowed by Wayne Rooney’s announcement a couple of hours earlier that he wanted to leave the club.
United’s season looked bleak for those few hours — and indeed up to the point when Rooney backed down and committed his future to the club — but Evra maintains the Bursaspor win was the keystone for the remainder of the campaign.
“The year twisted on that game against Bursaspor,” he said.
“We won but everyone was criticising us. [But] for all the trouble that was around the club, I felt then the team was more of a unit. I just knew Manchester United were going to come together.”
After beating Bursaspor, Alex Ferguson’s men won five successive games before drawing at Manchester City, then falling two goals behind against Aston Villa.
Had United lost that day, and Chelsea beaten Sunderland 24 hours later, the Red Devils would have been seven points adrift in the title race.
Instead, Federico Macheda and Nemanja Vidic secured a late draw at Villa Park and Sunderland defeated Chelsea the next day to hand United fresh impetus in the title race.
“Although we were dropping points I never felt anyone was better than us,” Evra continued.
“It was always our fault. Every time it was us making the mistake.
“I wasn’t sure about Chelsea. They won their first two matches easily [6-0 against both West Brom and Wigan] and it led people to say they would win the title.
“I wanted to see what happened when they had their first real test. They got it at Manchester City, and they lost.
“After that I thought we would do well.”
Now though, United face the ultimate test in tomorrow’s Champions League final at Wembley, where a Barcelona side widely acknowledged as the world’s best lie in wait.
For once, United will not be favourites and will almost certainly spend a lot of time chasing the ball, but Evra does not care.
“Barcelona are very good at keeping the ball but football is not about keeping the ball, it is about scoring goals,” he said.
For Evra, it will be his fourth attempt, although his only success to date came as United defeated Chelsea on penalties in rain-sodden Moscow three years ago.
Defeat to Porto with Monaco in 2004 was just about tolerable, but Evra concedes losing to Barcelona in Rome two years ago was unbearable.
“It hurt so much,” said Evra. “I remember when we did the team picture the following season, we had three trophies because we had won the league, the World Club Cup and the Carling Cup.
“But I wasn’t smiling on any of those photographs. We were missing the one with the big ears.”
Evra is confident United can reverse that result when the sides meet again tomorrow.
“I am honest. I was confident in Italy. Maybe too confident. I thought we were going to win,” he said.
“Everyone says Barcelona are the best team in the world now. I respect that. But two years ago everyone said we were going to beat Barcelona easily in Rome.
“Maybe the opposite will happen this time.”
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