Reading defender Tom McIntyre suggested that it was 'brilliant experience' to play against 'the best in the world' as the Royals lost 3-1 to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Saturday night.
United side progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 3-1 victory over the Championship side at Old Trafford. Brazilian duo Casemiro (2) and Fred were on target for Erik ten Hag's side as United recorded their 11th win in their last 13 matches.
The Reds are currently the only side in England still competing on all four fronts and will be desperate to end their trophy drought this season. Ten Hag's men are all-but in the final of the Carabao Cup after securing a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in their semi-final first-leg tie.
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Reading put in a spirited performance against United at Old Trafford, but the quality of the home side was too much for Paul Ince's men on the night. Despite losing and exiting the competition, Royals defender McIntyre - who started at centre-back for Reading - was grateful for the chance to test himself against the Reds.
"We tested ourselves against the best in the world at Old Trafford and it was a brilliant experience. We’re all going to learn a lot from it and take it into the rest of the season," he told club media.
"We didn’t know what kind of team they’d put out and at the end of the day we’ve come to play Man United at Old Trafford and we want to play against their best players. We were all buzzing when we saw the teamsheets, because that’s what we came here to play against.
"I thought even with ten men we still created a bit and had a fair few chances. We knew they were going to have a lot of the ball and move us about, but I thought on the whole we defended ruggedly as a team. We kept a good shape and football is like that sometimes – you’re going to come up against teams where you’ve got to sit in and wait for your opportunities. On another day we might have taken a few of those, but it’s brilliant experience nonetheless."
United face a hectic fixture schedule next month, with Ten Hag's men playing eight times in February.
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