Goal scorer Bruno Fernandes heaped praise on the performances of Manchester United's defenders and Casemiro following Wednesday evening's impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Although United spent much of the game on the front foot it was their two centre-backs, two full-backs and defensive-midfielder Casemiro who, in the eyes of Fernandes, were pivotal in helping them move back to within a point of the top four.
"I think everyone knows that the manager wants to play with that intensity, high pressure and to try and be as high as possible, so that when we recover the ball we are closer to the goal," Fernandes told Amazon Prime Video, reflecting on United's approach. "I was saying to Marcus [Rashford] after he missed the first chance, 'don't worry, if we create chances we will get closer to scoring goals'.
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"Obviously you get frustrated because you don't get your goal, but we had many chances in the first-half and I think the belief of the team made us win the game today. But I think the defence today was massive... Lisandro [Martinez], Rapha [Raphael Varane], Casa [Casemiro] and the two full-backs [Diogo Dalot & Luke Shaw]. Their reactions when we lost the ball up front was probably the most important thing to win the game."
Fernandes has faced criticism in recent weeks for not being as productive in front of goal as he was in the 18 months after he signed for United. He entered the clash with Spurs having scored just once so far this season.
"Obviously that was the concern, because I want to score goals and I was not getting my goals, but that was not my main focus," he added, reflecting on his second goal of the campaign. "I think the team was getting good results. The last one [vs Newcastle] was not the result that we wanted; we want to win every game and everyone knows that. But, obviously, for me, if the team is winning it is perfect.
"As an individual, obviously, I want to get my goals and assists because it is also part of my game. In the position I play in I need to attack."
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