Lyon give Man Utd's Ferguson food for thought <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United have been handed the toughest possible obstacle to Champions League glory after being paired with Lyon in Friday's draw for the last 16 round. Premiership champions United, who tackle Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday, will travel to France for the first leg in February to face Alain Perrin's six-time French champions. Lyon finished second to Barcelona in their group, edging out Rangers with a 3-0 victory at Ibrox in the final group game earlier this month, and Ferguson admits that United could not have landed more difficult opponents. He said: "Lyon is maybe the hardest of the five opponents that we could have got. They have won their championship for the last six years now which is an incredible record. "They've lost some players, such as Diarra, Abidal, Essien and Wiltord, but they can still produce players of good quality, so it won't be an easy game. "But hopefully, by the time that we get to the game, we will have all of our squad available. That is a pre-requisite of the challenge anyway, being able to pick who I want, but I think we will have a good chance. "You never expect easy games at this stage of the European Cup, but hopefully we can navigate that and go on to bigger things. "I don't know whether being at home in the second leg is so important. I've had different experiences of that, but hopefully we can come back with a good result and then Old Trafford will be at a good volume to give you the advantage in the home match. But it's an interesting tie." United have endured a turbulent week with 19-year-old defender Jonny Evans at the centre of rape allegations following a Christmas party in Manchester on Monday. No charges have been brought and Evans has been released on bail until February. And with the the club at the centre of the media spotlight following the alleged events, Ferguson remained tight-lipped when asked if he was willing to put forward his thoughts on the matter. He said: "No. Why would I say anything? Alex Ferguson has been dealing with situations like this for twenty-one years and I know exactly what we are doing. "I don't need to be guided or instructed by anyone, so we will carry on in the way we have always done. It's a club matter." South Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park could make a return to the squad for the clash against in-form Everton, despite having a comeback game in the reserves postponed due to a frozen pitch on Wednesday. Park has been sidelined since March with a cruciate ligament injury, but Ferguson insists that his fitness is not in doubt ahead of the busy Christmas fixture programme. He said: "Ji-Sung will play over Christmas. I was actually going to the reserve game on Wednesday until I heard that it had been called off. I was only going to see Ji-Sung play because his training has been excellent -- first-class -- in the last few weeks and far beyond our expectations. "Players who are out for nine months, you often expect a long and slow recovery, but he has come back into training and been terrific. He will get some games over Christmas, there is no doubt about that."</div>
