Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho hailed his side’s attitude and determination as they kept their top-four ambitions on track with victory at Middlesbrough.
Marouane Fellaini headed the visitors in front on the half-hour mark after former United goalkeeper Victor Valdes had earlier brilliantly denied Marcus Rashford on two occasions.
Jesse Lingard fired in a second for the Red Devils with a powerful drive into the top corner after 62 minutes before Boro substitute Rudy Gestede snatched one back with the hosts’ first goal in five Premier League matches.
Antonio Valencia capitalised on a mistake from Valdes to net United’s third goal late on, sealing a victory which left Mourinho delighted.
The Portuguese, whose side were playing their third match in a week, told BT Sport: “(I applaud) Our attitude and desire and our way of thinking. We don’t have plan B, C, D, E, F and G – but we have M, N, O, P and S.
“It is fantastic because we manage in the same week, to go to the quarter-finals of the Europa League which is an important target for us.
“At the same time, we got these three points that keep us in the race for the fourth position so we still have two doors for Champions League football next season.
“These guys gave everything, we started the game really well, Valdes made three fantastic saves before our first goal. We controlled everything until our second goal.”
