United Briefing: We're in a great position
Manchester United’s Daniel James praised the fight shown by the Reds to build a two-goal lead at the halfway point in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie with Granada.
The Reds ensured that we would take a healthy advantage into next week's return meeting with the Spanish side following the 2-0 victory in Thursday’s first leg.
A first-half strike from Marcus Rashford and a late Bruno Fernandes penalty were the highlights of a hard-fought contest at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, two goals that James believes has given United a firm grip on the tie.
"It's a great position, I think today we fought well,” James told MUTV’s Stewart Gardner after the match.
Highlights: Granada 0 United 2
Watch Rashford's sublime opener and the Fernandes penalty that has put us in pole position against Granada...
“Coming here, we knew it was going to be physical, it would be a good match for us and I think the important thing today is the clean sheet and going into the second leg with those two away goals.
“The tie isn't over yet, we still have to concentrate on next week. We'll still go into the game with the same attitude."
Our no.21 was pleased with the Reds' work on the night to get the result and went on to highlight the importance of the two away goals going into next week's return leg at Old Trafford.
“[They’re] very important. It’s not just two goals, they’re away goals, it’s so big going into the second leg.
“They [Granada] gave us a good fight and they will next week as well. For them, [they’ll] come to us with nothing to lose, so we’ll definitely be ready for that.”
James: The big thing was winning the fight
Daniel James tells us that bossing the physical battle was key against Granada...
“We’ve just got to have the same attitude [in the second leg], the tie isn’t over, but for us it’s about concentrating on Sunday now, getting back and getting recovered.
“It’s a massive game for us, we’ll get prepared for that one.”
Top tweets
CollectionTap here to see the best social media reaction from our game in Granada.
We will, of course, be bringing you further reaction from our 2-0 Europa League victory against Granada, including Tunnel Insider and further articles and social media activity.
However, the attention quickly turns to this weekend’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s pre-match press conference, which took place on Thursday night in Spain, will be live from 13:30 BST, so check out our various platforms to hear what the boss has had to say ahead of the trip to the capital.
Later in the evening, our Under-23s are in action when we take on West Ham United in Premier League 2. The game kicks off at 19:00 BST and will be broadcast live on MUTV.
Success in Spain
GalleryThis way for all the best images from our first-leg win in Andalusia.
As mentioned in our Dan James story above, the Reds earned a superb victory away to Granada in the first leg of our Europa League quarter-final.
But although we will take a commanding lead into the return match at Old Trafford, we will have to manage without the services of Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay, all of whom picked up bookings and will therefore be suspended.
Maguire played his 101st game for United on Thursday and we reflected on the skipper’s first century of appearances in a red jersey via a new edition of United Quiz. Take the test and see if you can get all 12 questions right.