Ferguson Hails Manchester United's Surprise Midfield Selection

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Ryan Giggs - Manchester United (PA)

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Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs were the slightly unusual combination that Alex Ferguson selected for this afternoon's crucial face-off against Chelsea at Old Trafford, not a choice that many observers would have inked into their potential line-ups.

But the master was proved right yet again, as the young Scot and veteran Welshman combined to dominate the centre of the park and help United to a highly impressive 3-0 victory.

Giggs, indeed, received a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd when he was replaced late on by Michael Carrick.

"Honestly, Ryan was fantastic," Ferguson gushed to MUTV, before claiming, "I kept him particularly for this game, I rested him.

"I told him two weeks ago he and Darren Fletcher would play against Chelsea. I thought this game was made for them, given Ryan's ability to hold the ball and beat a man in midfield with that left foot. Ballack couldn't live with him really."

Ferguson also revealed that he was perfectly aware that it was a gamble he was taking though, and a gamble that could have backfired, but the risk had allowed his team to reap a rich reward.

"It could have been a mistake - it's very easy to make a mistake when you've got a squad of 23 players. Genuine mistakes of course because you want to pick a team that wins and the supporters understand that. But today it worked and I'm glad it did," he added.

Giggs also supplied the cross for United's disallowed goal, a headed effort by Cristiano Ronaldo that resulted from a cunning corner ploy. After United were awarded a corner, Rooney put the ball in the arc and quickly rolled it into play for Giggs to collect and cross. The Chelsea defence were taken by surprise and Ronaldo netted, only for it to be chalked off because the linesman didn't see it properly.

Ferguson was not amused, his irritation apparent from his unfinished sentence: "We've worked at that. When you work at it and it's disallowed because the linesman's not watching..."

Zack Wilson, Goal.com