Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes said strength in depth is behind the club’s unbeaten run after his brace helped see off Brighton.
Fernandes scored twice as in-form United outclassed Brighton 3-0 in the Premier League on Tuesday to stretch their undefeated streak to 15 matches across all competitions.
After Mason Greenwood’s opening strike, January recruit and former Sporting captain Fernandes stole the show with goals in the 29th and 50th minutes at the Amex Stadium.
United have gone eight Premier League games without defeat to be fifth and two points adrift of Chelsea – who face West Ham on Wednesday – with six matches remaining in the Champions League qualification race.
“In the last games, before the stop, Scotty [McTominay] and Fred played very well and we have a lot of good results,” Fernandes, who has scored five goals in eight league appearances, told MUTV.
“Now it’s Nema [Matic], Paul [Pogba] and me, sometimes Andy [Pereira] or Juan [Mata] can play no.10, or Jesse [Lingard] – we have a lot of qualities and I don’t think it is fair on the guys who are out to just talk about me and Paul.
“We have so much quality and this becomes higher because we train together and we push [each other]. I know if I’m not okay, another player will play. So I need to be at my best on the training field.
“I need to be better and better to help the team. Everyone thinks the same way and that’s why we are playing this way and the results are coming. We know we need to give our best because we have such good quality.”
United have not tasted defeat since losing 2-0 to Burnley in January – keeping 11 clean sheets – and Portuguese midfielder Fernandes added: “You need to be focused and give everything for the team, for the club.
“I think everyone here knows that we represent a big team, so we need to give our best and to push forward and to keep trying.
“This is what the players are doing now – that’s fantastic. It doesn’t matter if we are tired, other guys are coming in and playing such a good game.
“They can bring more intensity because they are fresh, so we know we can give everything and if you are tired, you can come out. Now we have five changes this is better for us. The most important thing is the result at the end.”
