Lisandro Martinez insisted Manchester United showed the right "mentality" in their 4-1 victory against Real Betis on Thursday night.
United thumped their Spanish guests at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst. Ayoze Perez found the net for Betis, who have a mountain to climb when the two sides meet in Spain in six days' time.
Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag was highly critical of his players after their humiliating 7-0 loss at Liverpool last time out, as he accused them of dropping their "standards". Yet World Cup winner Martinez believes his team-mates put that problem right against Betis.
"It was a great result for us, but we have to keep going," Martinez told MUTV. "It doesn't say anything this result. It's the first leg and when we go to Betis, we have to be ready and focused, especially in their home, they play well and have the support of their people.
"We are happy for this game. I think the energy of the team [lacked], they started to play, and in the second half we changed the passion, the energy and we showed our mentality and we created more chances, then we score."
The score was 1-1 at half-time before United rallied in the second-half, starting with Antony's goal. Fernandes' header made sure of the victory before Weghorst hit his second goal for the Red Devils. All three players were criticised after the Liverpool loss.
What did you make of Manchester United's performance against Real Betis? Let us know in the comments below!
Martinez added, "He's a really good player [Antony], with a lot of quality, his skills are amazing and I'm happy for him because it's important for his confidence. I'm really happy with the job of the team.
"I'm happy for him [Fernandes] as well, as like you say, there was a lot of criticism to our team but it's like this when you play for a big, big team, it can happen, so you have to be ready and be happy with where we are."
United will need to beat struggling Southampton at home to put their loss to Liverpool firmly behind them. Ten Hag's view of his team's embarrassing defeat to their biggest rivals was obvious in his post-match interview last Sunday evening.
United conceded six goals in the second-half against Liverpool to complete a spectacular collapse. It was the Old Trafford club's biggest defeat since 1971. Ten Hag said, "Second half it was not us. It was not our standards. We didn't play as a team."
Asked whether he was angry, Ten Hag replied, "Yes, definitely, and surprised because I have seen the last weeks and months a team that is resilient and determined with a winning attitude. We didn't stick to the plan, we lose our heads. We didn't do our jobs.
"We didn't track back and it was really unprofessional... We have made a lot of progress, but you see what happens when you don't keep standards... But, also, it is only one game. We will bounce back. This team is strong enough and we will reset and bounce back."
