Roma coach Luciano Spalletti and club captain Francesco Totti praised United for a ruthlessness in front of goal after the Reds smashed seven goals past the beleagured Italians on Tuesday night.

Sir Alex Ferguson described it as the best European performance during his 20 years at Old Trafford, a brace each for Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo, and goals from Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra rounded off an unforgettable night.

It will be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons in Rome, however.

"This is the saddest evening of my entire career," Totti said after the game. "I have never conceded seven goals in the Champions League before.

"Unfortunately their shots were always on target and their whirlwind opening with three quick goals was a blow for us," he added. "We tried to react and do something different, but it was really very hard."

Giallorossi coach Spalletti was left equally shellshocked. "No-one imagined this performance. We suffered from a lack of experience," he opined.

"The first goal changed the face of the game. We lost our shape and played into their hands. The surprising thing was we had a similar amount of shots to United, but every one of theirs seemed to find the corner of our net.

"We have played many good matches this season, but we got it badly wrong this time. We made a lot of mistakes and got punished heavily for them."