Red Devils could be punished by UEFA after Ferguson’s failure to face press

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson reacted angrily after Nani was sent off for a high challenge on Madrid’s Alvaro Arbeloa in the 56th minute of the match, which United were leading 1-0 at the time.

With the man advantage, Madrid came back to win 2-1 on the night, 3-2 on aggregate.

Ferguson did not appear for interviews after the match, with his assistant Mike Phelan attending the post-match press conference and saying the manager was too “distraught” to speak, while the players did not stop to talk in the mixed zone.

Once his anger has subsided, Ferguson will be able to reflect on an outstanding first hour in which Danny Welbeck and Ryan Giggs were superb.

However, he may also wonder at the speed with which Real adjusted to their numerical advantage, turning the entire tie on its head before United sorted themselves out.

As Phelan pointed out, United are used to recovering from such shattering reversals of fortune and Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final with Chelsea is almost perfect, given the Red Devils have home advantage against a side mired in their own problems and having to travel to Romania for tonight’s Europa League tie with Steaua Bucharest.

Celtic’s Champions League journey ended at the last-16 stage as expected with a 5-0 aggregate defeat by Juventus after goals from Alessandro Matri and Fabio Quagliarella separated the sides in rain-lashed Turin last night.

The Serie A leaders took what turned out to be an unassailable three-goal lead from the first leg into the game and any feint hopes of a comeback from Celtic ended in the 24th minute when Matri opened the scoring from close range.

Quagliarella notched the second in the 65th minute as the visitors were again punished heavily for a lack of concentration.

Celtic captain Georgios Samaras commented: “We’re a young team with a lot of talent, and that’s an experience we’ll learn from.

“I think it was a great journey for everyone in the club.”

Paris St Germain, who led their tie with Valencia 2-1 after the first leg in Spain, claimed their place in the last eight last night.

But they suffered a brief nervous spell in the second half after Oliveira Jonas gave the visitors a 55th-minute lead to tie the overall scores.

However, Ezequiel Lavezzi equalised on the night just 11 minutes later and PSG eventually progressed 3-2 on aggregate.