Sir Alex Ferguson believes United have a “marvellous chance” of reaching the Champions League final after their workmanlike performance against Barcelona.

Barca enjoyed plenty of possession at the Nou Camp without creating many clear-cut opportunities and, although United offered little in attack themselves, Ferguson was satisfied with the defensive display.

“It was a professional performance,” the Reds boss told Sky Sports. “Our concentration in defending the space was very good and, although they had a lot of play on the edge of our box, they didn’t have many chances.

“On the negative side, we should have done better with our possession. We had opportunities to counter-attack and gave the ball away too easily.

“But going back to Old Trafford for the second leg, 0-0 gives us a marvellous chance.”

United’s night could have been even better had Cristiano Ronaldo converted a second-minute penalty. The Reds’ top scorer surprisingly put his spot-kick wide of Victor Valdes’ left-hand post, but Ferguson was quick to defend the winger.

“I would have backed him to score,” he said. “He’s a bit unlucky – maybe it came a bit too early in the match. It was disappointing but nonetheless, he was fantastic for us tonight.”