Although both teams created chances to push the game in their favour, the head coach said he felt his side had the better of the match in the first-half, and had to adjust their game plan after United changed their structure in the second period.
On scoreless draw with United
“It was a good performance at Old Trafford, which is a very, very tough place to play, against a good team. It was a game that both teams wanted to win, so I’m happy with the performance.
“I think it was a good game, it was an intense game, sometimes there are up and downs, which were not always good for us, but I felt the first-half was good, but there were spells in the second-half that Manchester United dominated and they caused us lots of problems, but we also created chances.
“There are things we need to improve on, and we have to take our moments, but I’m happy, it was a good team performance in a tough game.”
On making second-half adjustments
“The game went how I wanted it to go in moments, but as a manager we have to understand that players have to find their own solutions in different moments.
“But I think in the first-half we had our idea of controlling possession on the pitch, in the second-half they adjusted, with two lines of four and that made the game more difficult to control.
“Wan-Bissaka and Shaw pushed up on the other side, and we had to adjust, it meant Adama and Diogo had to drop more which took away some of the things going forward.
“But it was good, there were question and answers during the game, and the players adapted well. We both had chances, the clean sheet was important for us, and I think it was a balanced game.”
On going toe-to-toe with the ‘big six’
“We go toe-to-toe against any opponent, we don’t measure ourselves against whether we are playing the ‘big teams’ or not, it’s about how we develop our ideas on the pitch. It’s not about our opponent, it’s about us, it’s about the spirit the squad has, because we go against everybody toe-to-toe.
“The first-half was better, the second-half was not so good, so let’s try to improve.”
On aiming for a top four finish
“I don’t think about that. Now we’re just going to rest and take this break.”
