Benfica goal was key to United victory says Ferguson

MANCHESTER, England, Dec 7 (Reuters) Alex Ferguson thanked Benfica goalscorer Nelson for bringing his Manchester United side to life in their 3-1 Champions League victory.

Ferguson's men yesterday trailed to Nelson's superb 27th-minute strike before hitting back with Nemanja Vidic's equaliser just before halftime and second-half goals from Ryan Giggs and French striker Louis Saha to reach the knockout phase.

Critical of the way United started against a Benfica side who had knocked them out at the same stage last season, Ferguson said: ''I thought the game was just too slow to begin with.

''I don't think we play our best when we play with too much patience. There's a difference between patience with speed and patience with no speed -- and we were the latter to be honest.

''I think we can thank Mr. Nelson for the goal because it woke everybody up -- it woke our supporters up and woke our players up and we saw the real Manchester United.

''We played with speed and tenacity, and determination to turn the game around. We got a break right on halftime with the Vidic goal but it was certainly going to come, I feel.

''In the second half, we controlled the game. It was a very good performance from us bearing in mind we were a goal down.'' The victory was also a fair reflection of United's stop-start campaign in Europe this season, with three straight wins followed by surprise defeats against Celtic and FC Copenhagen.

Looking ahead to the last 16, which starts in February, Ferguson felt his side had learned some important lessons along the way.

EARLY WARNING ''From now on, every game is of real significance in terms of the quality of the opposition and the importance of the occasions -- and I hope that helps us,'' he said.

''But the most important thing is that we can't take things for granted. We can't spurn chances the way we did at Copenhagen and Celtic. That's a warning.'' Benfica coach Fernando Santos pointed to Vidic's equaliser in the opening seconds of first-half stoppage time as the turning point in the match.

''Benfica started well and had a lot of possession,'' he told a news conference.

''But later we had difficulty moving the ball from defence to attack and the goal they scored at the end of the first half caused us a lot of problems...it changed the game.

''In the second half, United were too strong for us...they dominated.'' Stung by their failure to secure a victory that would have put them through to the next round, Santos added: ''We are disappointed. We thought it was possible.'' REUTERS PM VC0902