Fernandes cites Reds' resilience
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes played a key role in the Reds' 2-1 fightback against Viktoria Plzen, noting the importance of the team's resilience.
"They [Viktoria Plzen] made a good pressure, they got the goal," the Portugal international told TNT Sports. "But the most important thing: we had the resilience, the fighting spirit, to come back.
"It was a good performance overall. Obviously, I think in the final third, we could have kept the ball a little more, but we knew the man marking from them was difficult to get away [from], so sometimes it was just a more pass and run, pass and run, to try and find the gaps."
The captain certainly had his say when it came to attacking input, creating seven chances in the game, including his smart late free-kick, which caught the Plzen defence unawares and teed up Rasmus Hojlund for the winner.
Fernandes: We showed great spirit
Bruno Fernandes says United cannot hide from our expectations, after we came from behind to beat Viktoria Plzen...
But the midfield maestro feels there are always improvements to be made. He added, with MUTV: "We should have done even a little bit better at the end.
"We had two or three transition moments where we could have killed the game. But also, when we don't kill, we have to run back quick, and we did it a lot of times."
The importance of getting the win on Thursday wasn't lost on Fernandes, as failing to earn one of the eight automatic qualification spots in the new Europa League format would mean playing two additional play-off games.
"We want to go through," he continued. "We want to be in the highest positions so we can avoid playing one more game, two more games in this case, and we have to win the games we have ahead."
That sentiment extends beyond our European duties, with a big fixture now rolling into view: a meeting with our crosstown rivals Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this Sunday (15 December, kick-off 16:30).
"You know what it means to play a Manchester derby. You know how much it means for the city, for our fans.
"So we have to do everything we can to win that game because, like I said in Europa League, it's the same in the league, we're not in the position we want to be, we need points, we need to win.
"And for us, obviously, it's Manchester City, it's a Manchester derby, but it's just one more game that we want to, and we have to, win."