Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted by his side's second-half performance as United notched a 1-0 win over Benfica in Lisbon.

There were times in the opening half at the Estadio Da Luz when the hosts had United on the ropes, but a different side emerged after the interval and took the points.

"I think it was a good, confident performance by us," Sir Alex told ITV. "We showed good patience in our game. I think in the second half we improved tremendously.

"I hope it gives them the confidence and the trust in each other they need in these games. There were moments when we didn't have a great understanding about how todefend the last line and kept giving the ball away.

"But in the second half we made some alterations, the midfield made more room for themselves and I think that made a difference to us."

United took all three points courtesy of Louis Saha's superb strike just after the hour-mark, and the Boss was impressed by the goal's quality.

"The goal was the highlight of the match," admitted Sir Alex. "It was a magnificent strike by Louis, and a good bit of football.

"Cristiano fed him in, Louis came in on his left foot and it was a marvellous goal."