25/04/2009 19:53, Report by Nick Coppack
Patrice Evra says United's come-from-behind win against Tottenham Hotspur wouldn't have been possible without an early goal in the second half.
After going into the break 2-0 down, Cristiano Ronaldo pulled one back for the Reds from the spot on 57 minutes.
The goal may have had a touch of fortune associated with it - replays showed Howard Webb was perhaps harsh to penalise Heurelho Gomes for his challenge on Michael Carrick - but Ronaldo kept a cool head to fire past the Spurs goalkeeper.
"That goal was key," Evra told MUTV. "The manager told us at half-time that if we scored once we'd go on to win, and we believed that. But we knew we needed to score in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
"We also knew we needed to wake up in the second half. At 2-0 down it was very difficult. We started very slowly and without any aggression. We let Tottenham play too much."
Evra admitted Sir Alex had "made a speech" in the dressing room at the interval. But the boss's team-talk wasn't the sole inspiration behind a stunning second-half performance.
"I have to say congratulations to the fans. We came off 2-0 down and were clapped off the pitch by our fans. That was unbelievable," said the Frenchman.
"The fans were very important and I’d like to congratulate them. It's very difficult for opposition teams to play at Old Trafford when the crowd gets behind us."
Patrice Evra says United's come-from-behind win against Tottenham Hotspur wouldn't have been possible without an early goal in the second half.
After going into the break 2-0 down, Cristiano Ronaldo pulled one back for the Reds from the spot on 57 minutes.
The goal may have had a touch of fortune associated with it - replays showed Howard Webb was perhaps harsh to penalise Heurelho Gomes for his challenge on Michael Carrick - but Ronaldo kept a cool head to fire past the Spurs goalkeeper.
"That goal was key," Evra told MUTV. "The manager told us at half-time that if we scored once we'd go on to win, and we believed that. But we knew we needed to score in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
"We also knew we needed to wake up in the second half. At 2-0 down it was very difficult. We started very slowly and without any aggression. We let Tottenham play too much."
Evra admitted Sir Alex had "made a speech" in the dressing room at the interval. But the boss's team-talk wasn't the sole inspiration behind a stunning second-half performance.
"I have to say congratulations to the fans. We came off 2-0 down and were clapped off the pitch by our fans. That was unbelievable," said the Frenchman.
"The fans were very important and I’d like to congratulate them. It's very difficult for opposition teams to play at Old Trafford when the crowd gets behind us."
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