Real playing terribly, says Jordi Cruyff

Former Manchester United midfielder Jordi Cruyff has astonishingly claimed Real Madrid are playing “the worst football for years”.

Despite the defending Champions League champions holding a 3-1 advantage heading into the quarter-final second leg in Manchester, Cruyff believes Alex Ferguson’s side are in with a great chance of turning things around.

And Cruyff, who spent four years at United before moving to his current Spanish club Alaves in 2000, amazingly claimed: “Real Madrid are playing the worst football I’ve seen for years – it’s beyond belief.

“How so many great players like Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo and Luis Figo can’t keep the ball and can’t even string two passes together is incredible,” he told Manchester United’s official website, www.manutd.com.

Cruyff, who reached the UEFA Cup final with Alaves two seasons ago only to be beaten by Liverpool, believes that the away goal United scored in the Bernabeu could prove crucial.

He said: “Ruud van Nistelrooy’s goal gave United hope in the first leg and I think we will see the best game of the quarter-finals again at Old Trafford on Wednesday.”