SIR Alex Ferguson saluted Cristiano Ronaldo after the Manchester United ace sent Arsenal crashing out of the European Champions League semi-final.
Title-holder United won 3-1 at the Gunners' Emirates Stadium to triumph 4-1 on aggregate and the Portuguese star set up United's opener for Park Ji-Sung and then embarrassed Gunners keeper Manuel Almunia with a blistering free kick.
Ronaldo also started and finished the move of the match in the 61st minute to seal United's place in the final against Chelsea or Barcelona.
"I thought they couldn't handle Ronaldo. That made a big difference," Ferguson said.
"The midfield was working its socks off, we had good shape and the defensive positions were covered. But we needed someone to give them real problems and Ronaldo, in that form, he's a fantastic player."
The United manager said the side's good start made the difference.
"Two quick goals like that against a young team, I don't think, wherever you play, you can recover from that," Ferguson said.
"It was a mountain to climb, especially as it was 1-0 from the first game.
"The third goal was marvellous. At that point, Arsenal were throwing everything forward and we caught them, really. The speed of the play was fantastic."
