Michael Carrick recognises Manchester United are now “in a good position” after taking another step closer to Champions League qualification with a 2-1 win over Brentford.
Goals from Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko at Old Trafford on Monday lifted third-placed United 11 points clear of sixth place in the Premier League with four games remaining.
They could now clinch a return to Europe’s top competition when they host another of the contenders, rivals Liverpool, on Sunday.
Carrick, United’s interim manager, told Sky Sports: “It’s another win. We’ve obviously got an important game coming up with the weekend, so we can look forward to that.
“It’s a big game for different reasons but we’ve put ourselves in a good position with a good win tonight.”
Brentford fought back in the second half and struck late on through Mathias Jensen but United held on.
Carrick said: “We could have scored more but it’s the time of year when it’s a result business. We needed to take the points and we’ve had a fantastic two games on the back of the Leeds defeat.”
Brentford boss Keith Andrews felt his side deserved more from the game.
The Irishman said: “I’m pleased with the performance.
“They started the game better than we did, took the lead. We were a little bit on the back foot in the first 10 minutes or so but, after that, we reacted brilliantly to the state of the game.
“I thought we were outstanding for large parts of the game but unfortunately we couldn’t take the opportunities that we created.”
