Stefano Pioli praised his side after they claimed a resounding 3-0 win in the Conference League over Polissya:

“As is often the case when you win, we took advantage of situations at the right time. David [de Gea] made a great save and then we almost immediately went on to double our lead. It was a tough game, but we put in a real team performance. We knew what Polissya were aiming to do. We did well not to give them chances. We dug deep and we showed great spirit and mentality. The lads deserved the win because we’ve worked well over the last 40 days. It’s a fair reward for their efforts. It’s true that we’ve got a good lead but we’re still yet to qualify, so we’ll need to be careful in the return leg.

“It’s clear that in the second half we had to be patient, but we were really focused and the players worked really well together. I loved the spirit we showed. [Albert] Gudmundsson got on the scoresheet – he needs to do this more consistently. I’m happy with his performance but you’ve got to demand even more from him, because he can give even more. 

“If you train in a certain way then it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll play with the same attitude – we played with great energy and quality, which is what we’re aiming to do. We have to improve in many aspects as it’s still the beginning of the season.”