Erik ten Hag hailed Bruno Fernandes for putting his Anfield meltdown behind him and inspiring Manchester United to an emphatic Europa League win.
United skipper Fernandes was singled out for criticism in the wake of last Sunday's 7-0 humiliation at arch rivals Liverpool, after losing the plot at Anfield. But he produced a captain's display and vindicated Ten Hag's decision to allow him to keep wearing the armband, with the win all but securing United's quarter-final place.
Fernandes had a hand in United's first two goals and scored the third, with Ten Hag saying: “I think he was the best player on the pitch. He showed his personality.
“He played a little deeper role tonight and I think he was brilliant, making the game from the back in position, a lot of good passes in between the lines and from there we created a lot of chances.
"He was brilliant today, he led the team from the first minute by his game. In possession, he made the rythm of the game and then scored a goal, so I'm happy."
Ten Hag also praised his team for the character they showed in battling back from seeing Betis equalise. He was delighted to see them push on to claim a comfortable win despite being pegged back by the LaLiga side.
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"We played a very good game. Half-time we should have been up 3-0 but one mistake we get punished for it. But I think we played well, the second-half especially and 4-1, good performance, good goals," the Dutchman added.
"We gave something to the fans and they gave us something back as well because they were behind us and I'm very grateful after Sunday. There was a good attitude from the start. We were good on the ball, we made good switches, created a lot of chances.
"So we are happy today. It's always about how a team reacts after a set-back and you see once again, this team has character so a big compliment to the team."
Marcus Rashford, who scored United's opener for his 26th goal of the season, said: "It's always important to win the next fixture after a loss.
“It's the only way to bounce back and continue the momentum we had before the Liverpool game. It's a step back in the right direction and we have to build on it now.
“We can't put too much emphasis on Sunday, because it's gone and we can't change it, so we just have to keep moving forward.”
Betis fans fought with riot police as ugly scenes marred the end of United's win. Five minutes before the end, trouble broke out in a section of the away end, but police defused the situation.
