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Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling are keen to climb the Premier League standings after a knockout phase of the Champions League with a game to spare.
Tuesday night seemed to have gone in the same direction as Saturday's 0-0 draw with troubled Crystal Palace, as Old Trafford fans became anxious to see Manchester United fight the Young Boys.
However, Fellaini avoided the shadows to secure a 1-0 win that propelled United into the knockout stages with a resounding match thanks to the defeat of his opponent Valencia next month against Juventus. from the other Group H match.
Early progress means that Jose Mourinho's men can focus more on their mediocre league form, with Saturday's visit to Southampton appearing to be the perfect opportunity to narrow the gap between the top four places.
"I think the atmosphere is good," said Fellaini after his exploits.
"The players are happy, but the most important thing now is to focus on Saturday and three points.
"It's always difficult to come back from the national team. We now have a full week of training. All players are ready to play and start on Saturday.
"Criticism is part of football, but we have to work. We are a team, we are together and give everything as well. Together, we must move forward and take the points. "
Smalling echoed the feelings of his teammates after narrowly approaching Young Boys.
"We had two targets that spoke before this game against Palace: get back into the top four and qualify," he said. "We have qualified now and now, everything revolves around the shape of our league."
Even with the well-documented problems of the Saints, United can not afford to play as they did at home, with Palace and Young Boys.
Mourinho let his pent up anger on some water bottle racks, throwing one at a time and throwing another after the last Fellaini winner, Smalling hinting that lack of self confidence had played his role Tuesday.
(Image: Getty Images)
"We played well against them, but we knew that at home, they would be difficult to eliminate," he said about a team that United had managed to beat 3-0 in Switzerland.
"I think we created a lot of opportunities and they were deserved, but they made us work for it.
"We've created good chances – not just a half-chance – and I think heads can fall when some of them do not go.
"You could see the relief on our faces knowing that we were qualified and that we did not have to go to Valencia and that we were making ourselves really difficult."
It was actually an evening that brought more questions than answers, but there was the positive of a second blank sheet for United – although largely thanks to the magnificent backup of David de Gea in the second period.
"The partnerships keep changing, but it's another blank sheet and I think we need to go back to the situation where we were very difficult to break in recent years," said Smalling's defensive pillar after S & # 39, be associated with Phil Jones. with Victor Lindelof injured.
"It's not ideal (to change the central defenders).
"I think you can see that when you have a consistent partnership, you can see that there is less chance of being given.
"That's what we are and it's something we get used to and we're used to playing with each other in training."
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