Manchester United's Europa League win gave city a 'lift' - Sir Alex Ferguson

Posted Friday, May 26, 2017 by ESPN

Manchester United gave their entire city a "lift" by beating Ajax 2-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday, according to former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

United played the match in Stockholm even as their hometown was continuing to come to grips with a deadly terror attack following an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday night that left 22 dead.

And Ferguson, who managed the club for 27 years, hailed the spirit of the city and backed Mancunians to support one another and rebound from Monday's horrific attack.

"Last night United gave the city a lift. That's what it was about. We're all proud of them, it was a great achievement," Ferguson told Sky Sports.

Following the match, numerous Manchester United players and manager Jose Mourinho expressed their joy in winning the title and dedicating it to the city.

On Thursday, both the Old Trafford club and their crosstown rivals Man City made known plans to donate £1 million to the victims and their families as they try to cope with the fallout of the bombing.

Ferguson added: "First of all, Manchester is a city like [Ferguson's home town] Glasgow, it's a working-class city with fantastic people and they'll get together.

"They've been through some difficult times in the past with the bombing of the Arndale Centre in 1996 and they recovered from that. They'll get together because they're working class and there's a great unity in the city."