Andreas Pereira in action against Leicester

Andreas Pereira vows to keep his United place

Saturday 11 August 2018 09:58

Andreas Pereira is determined to gain more minutes in a Manchester United shirt after playing a key role in the 2-1 opening-day defeat of Leicester City at Old Trafford.

Pereira impressed in pre-season and did so again on Friday evening as he made his first league start for the Reds in a deep-lying central midfield role. The Belgium-born Brazilian was calm and composed in the United engine room, quietly breaking up play and setting the Reds off on attacks.

The 22-year-old thoroughly enjoyed the outing and is hungry for more of the opportunities Jose Mourinho has given him.

It was very good to go out there, to feel the fans supporting us and to play at home in Old Trafford is always good," he told MUTV." I am going to try my best to keep playing and help the team as much as I can and hopefully we will see that this season."

United fans purred at the presence of Pereira, Fred and Paul Pogba playing together in midfield and Andreas reserved some kind words for our World Cup winner, who played over an hour after less than a week of training.

"[Paul] was very good. A player like him doesn't need a pre-season," Pereira continued. "He played the World Cup not so long ago and played today, which shows how fit he is.

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Paul gave a passionate and fascinating interview to MUTV after a fine performance in the victory over Leicester.

United's no.15 also commented on debutant Fred and Luke Shaw, who scored his first senior goal to clinch the victory.

"Fred is a very good player and I am very happy for him," Pereira said. "He played very well today and I am happy we won. I am also very happy for Luke Shaw, [who scored] a good goal.

Jamie Vardy pulled a goal back for Leicester late on but Pereira insists he was always confident the Reds would see out the win to begin the new campaign in ideal fashion.

"It was a bit tense at the end, but we were solid at the back and we practised a lot in training so we were certain we were not going to concede at the end," he said. "It's very important to start strong, so we win now the first game, which gives a bit of a relief, but we have to focus on the next game because we want to keep winning."


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That's how Luke Shaw has described his goal in front of the Stretford End, which capped a top display against Leicester.