Solskjaer: The boys were fantastic today

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was delighted with the performance of his players after Manchester United drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The boss praised Dan James, Andreas Pereira and our goalscorer Marcus Rashford in particular, saying they spearheaded the attack well in an unfamiliar formation for United.

Ole was naturally disappointed his side conceded Adam Lallana’s equaliser, which meant we didn’t secure the three points, but he saw plenty of positives going forward after ending the Merseysiders' 17-match winning run in the Premier League.

Here are the manager's main comments from his post-match interviews with Sky Sports and MUTV...

WE WERE GREAT TODAY

"“I thought one, the boys were fantastic, aggressive, pressing on the front foot. Two, the fans also made it an energetic game, with loads of passion in the crowd. Three, the referee did really well. He let it become a proper football game with tackles. He wasn't one of those tippy-tappy, stop-the-game referees. It’s not very often we praise the refs but I think he [Martin Atkinson] did well.”"

THOUGHTS ON THE BACK THREE

"“It was three at the back and we wanted to get on the front foot and press with Aaron [Wan-Bissaka] and Ash [Young]. With the front three, Dan [James] and Marcus [Rashford] and Andreas [Pereira], we had loads of energy and we trust the players at the back to deal with anyone in the league. Even though Liverpool have a very good front three, I thought this was the game if we’re going to create chances, we need more bodies up top. More directness, more runs in behind and the goal was fantastic in that respect.”"

CREDIT TO RASHFORD

"“Not just for the movement for the goal, but for his movement all night really, I think maybe it’s one of his best games for us. I think he’s showing strength. You could see that down the side when he showed his pace against Van Dijk and there was a body-to-body challenge there. He was strong. But the goal is what we want from him – tap-ins. We had a little video session yesterday and exactly that happened.”"

THE PLAYERS ARE A LITTLE GUTTED

"“We were defending a lot in the second half but to concede a cross along the six-yard line is disappointing, especially at the time it happened. I thought we’d just started creating a couple of counter-attack opportunities to create the second goal but we just couldn’t get it unfortunately. "

"“We know we have a team that will work together, there's a great attitude in there. This will turn their season because they’re disappointed in the dressing room. They feel we should have won. That’s a good sign for a manager, to see the players really disappointed after getting a point against Liverpool. Our fans showed again that they can see what’s happening and we will get there.”"

TODAY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP

"“Of course, it’s always important to get results, because that’s the only way to grow confidence in players and in teams and what we’re doing. A win would have been great but a draw is a step in the right direction. Two weeks ago against Newcastle was a low point this season for us but the response was fantastic. We’ve got players coming back from injury and illness and we’ll only improve because more will come back soon, so I’m pleased.”"