For a peer of the realm who had just watched his side reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson’s mood was that of a Dark Knight. The Manchester United manager looked as if his season was over as he slumped back in his chair, rather than a man who by the summer could be celebrating an unprecedented haul of five trophies. After sharing a glass with José Mourinho, the only whine on display concerned Ferguson’s bizarre assessment of United’s performance.

“It was one of those long European nights when you’re wondering if you’re watching a game of football or watching a game of suicide,” he said. “I thought we started well and after scoring the first I thought we could go on and kill them. But once we started putting icing on the cake we opened the door. I thought we were lucky to be ahead at half-time.”

Ferguson’s specific complaint concerned his players’ sloppiness in possession in the later part of the first half, when they contrived to let Inter Milan back into the match after taking the lead through Nemanja Vidic. Paul Scholes was singled out for giving away the ball, but even the otherwise outstanding Ryan Giggs was culpable.

“Scholes started absolutely fantastic, but had a period when he started to give the ball away frivolously,” Ferguson said. “They started to counter-attack and should have been level at half-time, but in the second half he went back to his normal way more.

“We were getting into fantastic areas, but started doing flicks and backheels into space when no one was there. It was really practice football and allowed them to get a grip in the game. In Europe, possession of the ball is so important and I thought they forgot that in the first half.”

Ferguson’s only solace was his belief that United beat an Inter side playing at their best, which he is convinced will stand them in good stead as they continue to battle on all fronts. The Scot will also hope that his downbeat assessment will give his players the wake-up call he clearly thinks they need. “The interesting thing for me is we played a team probably at their maximum potential in terms of experience, so to get through was a big plus,” he said. “We will do better in the next round. This was a difficult draw for us.

“I don’t think there has been any doubts for some years about the strength of English football. It has been proven with three teams in the semi-finals last year and teams in the final for the last few years. It’s obvious that the Premier League has the upper hand at the moment, but I’m only happy for Manchester United, to be honest with you.” Not as happy as he could have been.