Erik ten Hag felt Manchester United “deserved the win” after they were held to a goalless draw by Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The hosts had chances to break the deadlock late on, with Fred and Marcus Rashford both missing opportunities as Ten Hag’s men pressed for a winner in the dying minutes.
And the visitors themselves could feel disappointed not to have earned all three points, after twice striking the woodwork in the first half through Joelinton.
But Ten Hag was pleased with his team’s performance and felt they did enough to emerge victorious, telling BBC’s Match of the Day: “The performance was good.
“A clean sheet, we pressed well, we controlled the game and in stages we were good on the ball – especially in the second half.
“We dictated the game and in the end we could – we should – have scored the winning goal. One from Fred, and then Rashford had to score.
“In the end we could have got the win, we deserved the win, and it is a big compliment to the team that we deserved this with a physical performance against one of the most physical teams in the league. They [Newcastle players] all had cramp and we kept going.
“The team understands from front to back we cooperate together. We are hard to beat and we must keep that going.”
The result left the Red Devils fifth in the Premier League, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and still one ahead of Newcastle.