Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand wants to shift the focus on the FA Cup semi-final: EPL News
After knocking Chelsea out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand has turned his attention to the FA Cup semi-final match against Manchester City at the Wembley Stadium on 16 April,
2011.
The United won 2-1 in the second leg of the quarter-final and finished 3-1 on aggregate to qualify for the semi-finals. Ferdinand lasted full 90 minutes in the second leg despite looking uncomfortable after picking up a knock in the early minutes of the
game.
The United are in contention of winning the Treble in the ongoing 2010-11 season. The Red Devils are on top of the Premier League table with a seven-point lead over the second-placed Arsenal. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have also qualified for the semi-finals
of FA Cup and Champions League.
Ferdinand hailed his team’s performance in the Champions League and has urged his team-mates to take the games one by one and they should shift their focus on the FA Cup tie now.
“It’s a massive week for us. We’ve got one game out of the way and now we look forward to the City game on Saturday. It’s a huge game for the fans and the players. Fingers crossed we can be successful and make a lot of people happy. We played well, we played
some really good football,” Rio said, reflecting on the Champions League win.
“People may have expected us to sit back because we were 1-0 up [after the first leg] but the manager told us to go out and play and be on the front foot and I thought we did that for most of the game.” Said Ferdinand
The 32-year-old went onto hail the fans for their huge impact in their Champions League win against Chelsea. The former Leeds United player is expecting the same from the 30,000 United supporters travelling to Wembley Stadium for their FA Cup game.
The defender added that the fans have always been a huge advantage for the Red Devils and their one roar can lift the players on the field.