Ferguson: Media Plot Against De Gea

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claims the media are trying to destroy £17 million goalkeeper David De Gea.

De Gea, who left Atletico Madrid to succeed Edwin Van der Sar at United in the summer, made a few high-profile but ultimately uncostly errors during his first few games at Old Trafford and has taken time to settle at his new club.

The 20-year-old Spaniard was rested for United's Champions League match against Benfica in midweek and Ferguson gave a spikey response when asked about the excellent performance of stand-in goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard after the 1-1 draw at the Estadio de Luz.

And now the United manager has spoken about the pressure being heaped on his new signing. "There is obviously an agenda on De Gea and we experienced that again on Wednesday," said Ferguson. "It seems to me people are desperate for the boy to fail. That's the impression I get and I don't understand it.

"De Gea hasn't been flapping about in the goalmouth, he has been really composed. He's outstanding," Ferguson told the Mail on Sunday.

"Both our goalkeepers can use the ball, which is a fantastic asset in the modern game. At Bolton last weekend, he [De Gea] started seven attacks. He chipped the ball out and the attacks ended up in their penalty area. I think he had a 90% pass completion."

Ferguson has confirmed that De Gea will be restored to the starting line-up for Sunday's match with title-rivals Chelsea as he continues to put his faith in the young goalkeeper.

It had been speculated that De Gea would be dropped for the game at Bolton on September 10 as he would have to withstand an aerial assault but Ferguson said: "Those reports didn't bother him - I'd told him on the Thursday he would be playing.

"There's a lot that he has had to deal with and he's showing a lot of composure. He is 20 and coming into a country where he doesn't know the culture. He doesn't speak English, he's been looking for a house and he's found one now; he's been learning to drive in England."

Ferguson also had some words for comfort for Lindegaard, who will be back on the bench for the Chelsea match.

"Anders showed in Lisbon that he is a bloody good goalkeeper but David plays on Sunday. That was always the arrangement."

"We've got two terrific goalkeepers. Anders has done well and been patient. He knew we would be signing another keeper. He's happy to be at United and in a position to challenge for a place."

Fergie: Berbatov Has Role to Play

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted Dimitar Berbatov will get games this season despite being overlooked for Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Benfica in the Champions League.

Ferguson made eight changes to his side for the trip to Benfica, with Sunday's Premier League meeting with title rivals Chelsea in mind, but there was no place for Bulgarian striker Berbatov.

Berbatov, 30, was joint-top goalscorer in England's top flight last season, but he has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford in light of Wayne Rooney's form and the progress of Javier Hernandez.

Ferguson said: "It is hard because of the number of strikers we have, Michael Owen is there, Federico Macheda, Mame Biram Diouf. Danny Welbeck won't be back next week but probably the week after. It is not easy.

"Dimitar has been training terrific. His attitude is spot on. He will get his game time as the season wears on. There is no question about that."

Ferguson also reiterated that David De Gea will return to the United starting XI against Chelsea, in spite of goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard impressing against Benfica.

"We have two great goalkeepers," Ferguson said. "We were always going to share it and David will play on Sunday against Chelsea and possibly Anders will play at Leeds next Tuesday, depending upon how we see the situation with Ben Amos, who needs some game time also.

"There are opportunities to spread the load. The English league is so frenetic. Coming into that, as a young goalkeeper, there will be times when we can give him (De Gea) a break. Tonight was a good moment because he had a fantastic game on Saturday."

Sir Alex: De Gea Will Face Chelsea

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson praised Anders Lindegaard's performance in the 1-1 Champions League draw with Benfica, but hit out at perceived criticism of his fellow goalkeeper David De Gea.

Lindegaard impressed on his debut in the competition as United came from behind to draw in Lisbon, with Ryan Giggs equalising after Oscar Cardozo's opener.

Lindegaard's performance only served to highlight question marks over big-money summer signing De Gea, though, following the Spaniard's hotly-debated start to the season.

Asked whether Lindegaard had given him a selection dilemma in choosing between he and De Gea in goal against Chelsea this weekend, Ferguson told ITV1: "No, not at all. David De Gea will play on Sunday. That was the understanding we had before the game, and it doesn't change.

"I don't know why you ask these questions, you're just looking for stupid little things. Anyway ... it proves we have two terrific goalkeepers.''

Ferguson said of the match: "Going a goal down but coming back was the good part of the game for us, in the first 30 minutes of the second half we played very well, maybe we should have finished it then.

"In the last 15 minutes they came into it and Anders made two terrific saves to keep us into it.''

Lindegaard was pleased with his night's work.

"It was very amusing, great fun and that's the most important part of why you play football - fun,'' he said. "I enjoyed it very much, it was a great night. It's a great stadium to play at, a very loud audience and also I could hear our own fans which was nice. This is why I came to United, to play these kind of games.

"There's always a bit of nerves and if there isn't then it's not that enjoyable. It makes me feel alive. I'm satisfied with my performance, just a bit sad that I didn't save the first goal.''

Asked about challenging for the first-team spot, Lindegaard said: "What answer do you expect to that question? I've said a thousand times before I'm not here to pick my nose.''

Ferguson: Rooney is Like Pele

Sir Alex Ferguson has compared Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney to the legendary Brazilian Pele as he looks to continue his fine recent form against Benfica.

Rooney has often been hailed as ''the white Pele'' by fans in the Stretford End at Old Trafford and, in responding to an observation from Benfica coach Jorge Jesus that Rooney is ''more Brazilian or Argentinian'' than English, Ferguson made his own comparison.

''Look at Pele,'' Ferguson added. ''He was a very aggressive attacker as well who could look after himself. So can Rooney. There are similarities that way in strength, speed and determination. But he is white, completely white.''

In fact, Ferguson thinks of Rooney as the very best of British, boasting the same desire, work ethic and talent as United legends of old.

''Wayne is a typical British player,'' Ferguson added. ''But there have been British players who have great qualities that made them great players - (Paul) Gascoigne, George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.

''The similarities are that the boy has great courage. He wants to play all the time. He has incredible stamina. These are added extras to the talent he has.''

Ferguson is also backing Rooney and strike partner Javier Hernandez to each hit the 25-goal mark this season.

The pair have contributed 10 between them in Manchester United's stellar start to the season, with Rooney currently topping the Premier League scoring charts with eight.

''Two years ago Wayne's target was to go over 30 and he reached it very quickly,'' Ferguson said. ''If he gets to that target again I will be absolutely delighted because with Javier's ability to score we could have two goalscorers well above 25.''

Having left Rio Ferdinand at home as a precaution and with Nemanja Vidic yet to start training after suffering a calf injury in the opening weekend win at West Brom, Ferguson needs to pay careful attention to his line-up ahead of a packed fixture list that includes Sunday's home showdown with Chelsea.

Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, Park Ji-sung and last season's joint Golden Boot winner Dimitar Berbatov will all hope to start their first game of the season.

Kuszczak Hits Out at Man Utd

Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak has hit out at his club for failing to sell him this summer.

Kuszczak, 29, is seeking first-team football after falling behind David de Gea and Anders Lindegaard in the United pecking order and was linked with a return to former club West Bromwich Albion.

However, despite expressing his desire to move on, the Poland international remains at Old Trafford and has revealed that he is not happy with the way the situation played out.

"I am angry and disappointed with the way I am treated," said Kuszczak in The Sun. "I had a few good offers. The problem was the club who wanted to sell me for £4 million."

Giggs: Europe will Stretch Man City

Ryan Giggs believes Manchester City's Champions League adventure will test their tilt for the Premier League title to the limit.

Both Manchester clubs have recorded four wins from their opening four English top flight games and begin their European campaign on Wednesday.

Giggs thinks City's inexperience in the Champions League, combined with tough matches against Villarreal, Bayern Munich and Napoli, will test their Premier League credentials to the full.

In an exclusive interview with MUTV, Giggs said: "Manchester City will be right up there because of the quality they have and the money,'' he said. "They have been able to go out and buy so many top players. The test is the first season in the Champions League. Tottenham found it out to a degree.

"We found it tough early on to get that mix of playing in a Champions League game, which takes so much out of you physically and emotionally, and then have a hard Premier League game the following weekend. You need the squad to handle it, so we will see if they can do what ourselves, Arsenal and Chelsea have done over the years.''

With three final appearances in the past four seasons, United are enjoying a golden period in terms of European combat. The fact it doesn not seem that way is purely due to the brilliance of Barcelona, who have denied Giggs and his team-mates on the two most recent of those occasions.

It is widely accepted that United were better at Wembley in May than they had been in Rome two years previously. Equally, it is undeniable they were a clear second best, outclassed by a team who turned ball retention into an art form and possess a group of the greatest players on the planet.

"It is difficult to bridge the gap because they are such a good team,'' reflected Giggs. "But it is not impossible. Teams have beaten them. We beat them three years ago.

"(In personnel) it is not too different from then. What they have got is the experience and confidence of winning things. We have to overcome that. If we come up against them again, we will be confident of beating them. You have to learn from your mistakes and get better.''

The problem is obvious. Xavi and Andres Iniesta can take control of games in central midfield while David Villa always provides a goal threat. Add Cesc Fabregas to the list and the task becomes tougher still. And Lionel Messi has not even been mentioned yet.

"He is probably the best player of the last 20 years,'' said Giggs. "He is such a slippery player. Because of his height and quickness he is difficult to pin down and his balance is exceptional. Cristiano (Ronaldo) runs him close but Messi has won the Champions League for two of the last three years and scored in the final both times. That is what sets people apart; big players score in big games."

Injury Relief for Cleverley

Manchester United have revealed midfielder Tom Cleverley suffered ligament damage in his foot, but no break, and is expected to be out for four weeks following a tackle by Kevin Davies during Saturday's 5-0 win at Bolton.

Cleverley limped out of the weekend victory at the Reebok Stadium after Bolton striker Davies was guilty of a robust challenge on the playmaker which was condemned by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson admitted after the result, which maintained his side's 100% start to the Premier League season, that he feared the England Under-21 international might have broken a bone in his foot, spelling a long period on the sidelines.

But the Red Devils have announced that Cleverley sustained ligament damage which means four weeks out rather than the expected timescale of months that would have come with a break.

Meanwhile, Ferguson confirmed Jonny Evans and Patrice Evans are doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Benfica in Lisbon. He told MUTV: "Jonny is doubtful for Wednesday. He got a knee in the hip in the second half which was pretty painful, while Patrice got a kick on the kneecap."