Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was full of praise for his Manchester United squad who produced a resilient display to beat Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game after nine minutes, but the Reds had to defend in numbers during the second half with the Foxes producing a number of key chances which David De Gea had to clear away.
The result though, United's fifth consecutive away win, sees the Reds maintain pace with league rivals in the fight for fourth and Ole, speaking to the media after the game, was pleased with how his team performed in the East Midlands.
WE PUT OUR BODIES ON THE LINE
“We know we can play better, but you can't play fantasy football every time and today we could have controlled the game more but when we didn't we fought for the next ball, we fought for our mates next to us, we put our heads on the line, we put our bodies on the line and it was a great defensive performance from inside the box I have to say.”
A POWERFUL COMBINATION
“As Paul and Marcus get to know each other's games, they know each other's strengths and with the quality they've got you expect that quality and it was a beautiful, beautiful pass and a great finish. But then again I told him to put it through Schmeichel's legs because he opens up! But it was a great finish so I can't complain, can I?! [Smiles]
PAUL IS FANTASTIC
”I think he can look back on these games and say that he is on his way. Paul is a fantastic midfielder and he can always improve and he's one of those lads who wants to improve and he wants to see this game and wants to see what he could have done better. He's playing more or less every minute, so of course now the recovery in-between games will be important for him.“
ALEXIS IS IMPROVING
“I thought he did well but we had to change the game. He was sharp when we could get him in. He worked really well defensively. We never created chances for him but he's coming, he's improving all the time.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAN SHEET
“As I said we put our bodies on the line, there were a couple of bruised noses and knees, and dead legs. They fought for their three points today. I think we deserved it in that respect. In the second half when we could have controlled it more, we could have slowed it down. But we defended really well. Eric and Victor were fantastic and David again of course.
”If you have the foundation of a clean sheet you'll always be in with a chance to win a game and we've got a keeper that saves us, we've got a back four that sacrifices everything in the box, a couple of midfielders who made a couple of great blocks, that was absolutely amazing to watch and the attitude has been spot on ever since I came.“
A FLURRY OF BOOKINGS
“It's supposed to be like this, the game of football, with a few tackles flying in, because there are three points on the line and I have to say our lads sacrificed everything they had.”
RECOVERING MOMENTUM
“The three points should always give the lads confidence. They're not 100 per cent happy with the performance, which is great because we know we can do better than this.”
THE TRAVELLING SUPPORT
“They need to know they are doing a great job for the team as well. It is fantastic to hear them. Our supporters have always been the best in the world and they deserve to go home with all of the players, me and the staff thanking them for their efforts.”
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