Champions League 2013-14 – day 5
Bayer Leverkusen 0-5 Manchester United
Coach Moyes reacts:
“Leverkusen are doing so well in the Bundesliga at the moment, second only to Bayern Munich, so that puts our result and performance into perspective,” explained the boss. “It was an all-round great performance, coming away from home and scoring five goals somewhere that’s renowned as being a difficult place to come.
“The link-up play was super tonight, I think Wayne Rooney got four assists. It’s a long season and we’re going to have to have different combinations for different games but, tonight, Wayne and Shinji Kagawa were very good.
“Sometimes Wayne might need to play up front and Shinji will play behind. We have to make sure we have alternatives if Wayne or Robin [van Persie] are injured. Shinji was excellent tonight but he’s also good on the left.
“The goals will get the headlines but we defended well. It was an important game because we had to win to stay top of the group and we’ve now qualified.
“I’ve been hoping to get this type of performance more often, I have to say it’s the best [display] so far [in my time at United] because of the goals and we’ve not done it in a game of this magnitude. But I want us to do it regularly.
“I hope I can continue the standards set before I came here and that’s what I plan to do. The team’s performance tonight showed that. It’s what’s expected here, doing well in the league and cups and I’ll try to keep that going.”
Moyes is aware that the overall task is not yet finished as Shakhtar Donetsk could still pip the Reds to top spot in Group A with victory at Old Trafford in the final fixture.
“The job is to make sure you qualify,” he added. “The next job is to win the group. We want to do well in all competitions. We’re in a good run of form, we had a slip-up on Sunday but, in the main, we’re doing well. I’m pleased that we’re improving all the time.”
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