Fergie admits United lucky to escape with 1-0 loss

Sir Alex Ferguson was visibly disgusted after watching his Manchester United side produce a spineless performance at Pride Park on Wednesday evening. Kris Commons' first-half wonderstrike handed the Rams a 1-0 first-leg lead and Fergie was quick to admit that his side are lucky to only trail the tie by a single goal.

A weakened United side were well-beaten by Derby meaning the Red Devils have plenty of work to do in the return leg on Tuesday week.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sir Alex said: "The positive from tonight is we only lost 1-0,

"It's a fantastic result for us tonight considering the performance. We could have conceded four goals. It's a fantastic result for us, now we go to Old Trafford - it'll be the difference."

The United boss, however, will again give his younger players a chance to impress in the second-leg. The likes of Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck started the game at Pride Park as Fergie made plenty of changes from the side that won 3-0 at Southampton.

"We'll persevere with the younger players for the second leg, they deserve to be out there because they were our better players tonight. I thought Gibson was one of the better players, and Welbeck just didn't get any service so it's unfair to judge him."