Owen Hargreaves praised Lisandro Martinez and David de Gea and also said Manchester United are finding a way to win games under manager Erik ten Hag that they would have previously fallen short in.
Hargreaves, who played for the Reds between 2007 and 2011, made the admission following United's slender 1-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game, planting an emphatic first-half header past Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
That proved to be just enough to secure a second successive Premier League home win for United, but it was not achieved without some heroic goalkeeping from David de Gea and plenty of grit from the defenders in front of him. The Hammers had no shortage of opportunities to draw level in the second half, but they failed to find a way past an inspired De Gea.
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The Spaniard produced several terrific saves, the best of which saw him expertly keep out Kurt Zouma's header as United stood firm and did just enough to see the job through and move to within a point of the top-four.
And for Hargreaves, it is United's ability to win ugly that has improved under Ten Hag. The Reds have won five times via a one-goal margin in the Premier League so far this term.
"Erik ten Hag has got Manchester United winning games they would not have won last season," Hargreaves told Premier League Productions. "They are in a good position, defensively they are so much improved. They will be delighted. Lisandro Martinez is the main man in that back four."
Meanwhile, Hargreaves also waxed lyrical about De Gea, describing him as the Reds' "best player" in recent years.
He added: "We know what David de Gea does – he produces big saves at big moments. That's what he's best at. He's been consistently United's best player over the last few years."
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