Frustrated Nani come back even stronger

Sir Alex Ferguson had no complaints about Nani’s red card at Aston Villa that will see him miss the Carling Cup final but the Reds boss had nothing but praise for 10-man United as they battled to a 1-1 draw.

Effective against Hull City, following a cameo against Burnley at Old Trafford, Nani was then instrumental in United’s victories over Manchester City and Arsenal.

“It was a sending off. It was a red card,” said Fergie after watching his side move to within a point of leaders Chelsea who lost 2-1 to Everton.

“It was a naïve tackle. He is not a malicious player but he has gone in with his foot raised off the ground and we cannot complain about it”.

As well as losing Nani for three matches Ryan Giggs, who forced United’s equaliser, faces an X-ray on his elbow after leaving Villa Park with his arm in a sling and is a doubt for next week’s Champions League clash with AC Milan.

While Nani is available for Tuesday night’s trip to AC Milan, and the return leg in three weeks time, Ferguson will rely on Antonio Valencia and Park Ji-Sung for the domestic matches bridging the European tie.

“After half-time, I spoke with the coach and he was unhappy with me,” Nani said somewhat remorsefully on Thursday.

“The incident happened in the middle of the pitch and I don’t think I merited being sent off. I am not a violent footballer. My career is in this sport. I wanted to recover the ball and I saw the chance to stop Petrov.”

“Now I am sorry, because I have damaged the performance of my team. I am convinced that had we finished with 11 men we would have won.”

“We have wasted the opportunity to be first in the table. And it is very bad for me, as I have been developing my best form of the season” he said.

The question is now, with Nani seemingly more mature with the ball at his feet, can the 24-year-old player learn from this experience and come back even stronger?