Sir Alex: Bring on Barca

Reds boss Sir Alex can’t wait to face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

The Catalans beat Schalke 2-0 on aggregate to progress, but will be without skipper Carlos Puyol for the first-leg tie at the Nou Camp on 22 April.

“Puyol’s a very good player, so that’s interesting,” Sir Alex told Sky Sports.

“We have the opportunity now to achieve something really special. We want to go to Barcelona and show we’re a good team.

“Barcelona are a wonderful club but we can’t go there and be negative. We have to go there and be really positive. If we do that then we’ve got a chance.”

The United manager surprised everyone with his starting line-up against AS Roma, leaving Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes on the bench.

But Sir Alex defended his decision and maintained his faith was repaid by those in the starting XI.

“We have Arsenal on Sunday to think about and you have to look at the big picture at times,” Sir Alex told MUTV.

“We were going into a game at Old Trafford with a two goal lead and I have to trust the players in that situation.

“I keep saying it’s the best squad I’ve ever had so if that’s the case then why shouldn’t I play them? I took out Scholes, Rooney and Ronaldo but Ji-sung Park, Carlos Tevez and Owen Hargreaves were our three best players.”