Fergie praises 'mature' side

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has praised his team after they saw off CSKA Moscow 1-0 in Russia.

The Red Devils stay top of Group B with three wins from three thanks to a goal from Antonio Valencia in the 86th minute.

United equalled Ajax's UEFA Champions League record of 14 away games unbeaten and Ferguson says the team should be proud of the milestone.

"I think we should be proud of it," he told Sky Sports. "It's not easy away from Europe because we've been to some fantastic places over the years.

"Maturity - there is a way you play in Europe away from home and I think you saw tonight we showed good patience in the game and kept good possession, I think that's a key factor."

Much had been made of the artificial plastic pitch in Moscow in the build-up to the game, and although the ball did hold up on the surface at times, Ferguson praised his players' ability to adapt to the conditions.

"I think that if you are a good footballer and you can concentrate on the ball - if you can concentrate on the ball that's the most important thing," he added. "They did that and I thought they did well.

"We wanted a bit more of a surge through the middle rather than the wide positions. I felt that if we could get into these areas then the wide players could come into it at a later stage.

"And I think it worked out quite well. Not exactly what you want because football's football at the end of the day.

"We had some good chances in the second half, we improved our goalscoring chances and we're pleased that Valencia's got an important goal for us."

Fabio put in an impressive display at left-back for United, and although he went off in the dying minutes with an injury, Ferguson revealed it is not serious.

He said: "He was absolutely outstanding. The boy is a magnificent player for 18 years of age, absolutely first class. It's just cramp, all he's got is cramp, he's okay."