Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez praised the way Manchester United defended in their win over Unai Emery's side at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Erik ten Hag's men secured a 1-0 victory over the Midlands outfit in the Premier League clash, with Bruno Fernandes on target for the home side before the half-time break. The victory saw the Reds strengthen their grip on a top-four place, with United just two points behind third-placed Newcastle with a game in hand.
Villa have been in good form since Emery came in to replace Steven Gerrard as manager. They have climbed the table in recent months and remain in contention to secure European football for the next campaign. However, the Midlands club were unable to find a way past United's resilient defence at Old Trafford.
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After the game, Martinez suggested it was "harsh" that Villa had lost the game, but admitted the away side were sloppy in possession and came up against a strong Reds backline. Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw started at centre-back once again, with Diogo Dalot on the right and Tyrell Malacia on the left.
"It's a bit harsh [to lose], we didn't start the game well, we were sloppy and gave the ball away too many times to them," he told Sky Sports. "Our line was good, our spirit was there in the second half but at the end of the day it's zero points that we take back to Birmingham and it's a little bit frustrating.
"We have got a winning mentality right now, we were unbeaten for 10 games and we tried to come here to take the three points, not even a draw. We tried at the end, they defended their goal really well and cleared their line a few times but we can't start games sloppy like that.
Discussing United's goal, the World Cup winner claimed Ten Hag's side were slightly fortunate that Fernandes' shot took a deflection on the way into the net.
He added: "I didn't do a long ball for 40 minutes and I decided to go long and Casemiro did an amazing header and then [Marcus] Rashford is all of a sudden one vs one. I made a save and then it deflected off Moreno. Disappointed because we lost the game via a deflection.
"You can see how far we have come with this manager. It is a good time to be a Villa fan. I'm proud to wear this shirt. I'm all in every weekend and let's see if we can qualify in Europe in the next four games."
Ten Hag's side, who have now won 19 of their 32 league matches this season, are back in Premier League action when they travel to Brighton on Thursday night.
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