Sabitzer: You can feel the spirit here
Marcel Sabitzer insists he's enjoying life at Manchester United so far, after a whirlwind start to his loan stint with the club.
Following his debut as a substitute in the narrow Old Trafford victory over Crystal Palace, Sabitzer started both of the back-to-back fixtures against Leeds United, home and away.
All of those games have been hard-fought affairs, and the new boy has been impressed by the team spirit that has enabled the Reds to claim two wins and, in between, rally from 0-2 down in the first meeting with the Yorkshire club to draw 2-2.
"Leeds away is a big game and we have to win those games. We were ready for it, the attitude was good.
"We knew before [Leeds at home] they would be two tough games and we had to be focused right until the end."
In the continued absence of Casemiro through suspension, Sabitzer was paired with Fred in the midfield pivot at Elland Road and he played a big part in the opening goal scored by Marcus Rashford.
Striding forward inside Leeds' half, the no.15 spotted Luke Shaw in space on the left flank and pinged a perfect ball out to the full-back's feet. The England international then did the rest with an exquisite delivery that Rashford gleefully headed home to break the hosts' stubborn resistance.
"He [Marcus] is a great guy, a great player and he's helping us a lot at the moment," acknowledged the Austrian, when asked about his prolific team-mate.
"He's good, he's talking to me a lot about what he's expecting from me, so I'll try to fulfil that," replied Marcel. "I'm feeling good and I'm liking it here so far."
Inevitably, the question came up as to whether the midfielder could extend his stay beyond the current campaign.
"It's a loan and that's all I can say [about that] at the moment," he said. "What I can say is I'm feeling very good here, I like the team, I like the club, I like the atmosphere at Old Trafford... so we will see what happens in the summer."
Action from Sabitzer's first United start
Player highlights | Marcel Sabitzer almost scored and influenced Marcus Rashford's goal during his first start…
The win over Leeds United temporarily took the Reds into second place in the Premier League, until Manchester City beat Aston Villa later in the day to reclaim the position directly behind leaders Arsenal.
"It's hard [to win the title], we are a bit behind them but, as I said, we'll keep going and doing our job," said Sabitzer.
"There are big games ahead so we have to keep going and keep the energy high and then we will see what happens at the end of the season."