Sir Alex: We deserved win

Sir Alex Ferguson believes the "fortunate" moments when Chelsea had a man sent off and United were awarded a penalty merely made up for other incidents missed by referee Mike Dean.

Chelsea's John Obi Mikel was dismissed after 32 minutes for lifting both feet off the ground in a challenge on Patrice Evra, while Louis Saha was pulled back in the box in the 89th minute before completing United's 2-0 win from the penalty spot.

“I’ve seen the sending off incident and it was maybe a bit harsh, but there was intent there," said Sir Alex on Sky Sports.

"It could have hurt the boy (Evra) but a lot of referees would have let it go. Then, when you see Joe Cole’s tackle in the second half on Cristiano Ronaldo, that should have been a straight red card. It was right down the Achilles which is happening repeatedly to Cristiano. He got a yellow card, but it should have been red. I think the referee was perhaps balancing it out.

"The foul on Louis Saha for our penalty was a bit harsh, but I think that cancels out the one we should have got in the first half. We should have had a penalty kick (for Joe Cole’s foul on Evra) in the first half, I think the cameras clearly show that. In tight games like that, the referee has to make big decisions quickly and he can get it wrong."

Right or wrong, the refereeing decisions did not taint the worthiness of United's victory for Sir Alex, who said: “I think we were the better team.

"Our football in the early parts of the match was outstanding - in the first half hour we played as well as we have all season in terms of the penetration of our play, the movement and our passing.

“We could have been two or three up early on. Petr Cech made a great save from Wayne Rooney right at the start and we were dominant at that point.

“I think the real turning point was the goal just before half time. It was a real blow to Chelsea. At that point we had complete control of the match.

“In a way we got some of our confidence back today," added Sir Alex.

"There was style and tempo to our play. I was delighted with that. Tevez and Rooney are getting more games and Saha is coming back. We are looking more like ourselves.”