Fergie: Ronaldo World's Best
Sir Alex Ferguson expects Cristiano Ronaldo to show his class against Roma on Wednesday.
Ferguson admits the he was ineffective when Manchester United faced Milan in the UEFA Champions League two seasons ago, but he believes he have come of age since and is now ready to lead Manchester United into the semi-finals.
"When we played Milan a couple of years ago Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo lacked the experience to handle it," he said in The Sun.
"It was a big tie against experienced guys like Maldini, Cafu and Pirlo so it was very hard for them.
"But they have had more experience in European football and that is how you progress.
"The two years have made such a difference to players like them. Then they were young boys, now they are maturing all the time. All round we are in much better shape coming to Italy this time than we were two seasons ago. The team is in great shape, has great heart, spirit and confidence."
"I know this is going to be a formidable test. But if we can win this one, we do not need to fear anyone," he urged.
"Roma have a tremendous home record. They have gone 19 games without losing at home.
"The Italians, without question, have over the last 40 years developed a defensive technique. Their record shows that. So that is the challenge, but we have faced that from a few teams over the years so it is not an issue.
"We have to produce the same sort of form that we did against Juventus.
"We are certainly in the sort of form to do that, we have great attacking options."
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