United pleased with 'nice looking' draw

Manchester United - Sir Alex Ferguson has no concerns with Champions League draw

By Will Haine  August 26, 2011 

Sir Alex Ferguson was left to reflect on a relatively favourable Champions League draw for Manchester United, with the Barclays Premier League champions seemingly destined to top their group.

United will face Benfica, FC Basel and unknown Romanian quantity Otelul Galati in Group C and will be expected to dispatch all three opponents with relative ease.

And although he did not say as much, a smiling Ferguson was clearly pleased with the outcome of the draw in Monte Carlo on Thursday.

"It's an interesting draw with no real travel difficulties," said the United boss.

"We're looking forward to the games.

"Obviously we've played Benfica in the past. They're always great games.

"Obviously there's great history between the two clubs.

"Basel are a Swiss team who are doing really well. Swiss teams tend to bring lots of young players through their system which is great. We have played them before, in 2002/03, in the group stage.

"We don't really know much about Otelul Galati but that's the beauty of the Champions League, you get fresh teams to play against.

"They obviously deserve to be in the competition. It's great for them."

Meanwhile, United players took to Twitter to air their views on the draw, with the general consensus that the Red Devils have been given a straightforward task.

"I think the draw is a good draw for us," said Wayne Rooney. "I can't wait for the Champions League to start again."

Rio Ferdinand tweeted: "It's a decent draw. Benfica is a tough place to go from past experience - there's great history between our clubs. Basel and Galati here we come!"

"Nice looking Champions League draw," added Michael Owen. "Winning your home games will be key."