Derby defeat shows we need to be more aggressive – Fellaini

Joe Williams

Marouane Fellaini has called on his Manchester United team-mates to be more aggressive after the derby defeat to Manchester City.

Jose Mourinho saw his 100 per cent start to life in the Old Trafford hotseat come to an end on Saturday when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City emerged 2-1 victors from a pulsating clash.

The Portuguese believes the pressure of the occasion got to some of his players, with United’s poor first-half display compounded by two penalty appeals being rejected after the break.

Fellaini, who was one of the better United players in our ratings from the clash, was disappointed by the loss but knows United cannot allow that feeling to fester, with the Red Devils having to prepare for Thursday’s trip to Rotterdam to take on Feyenoord as their Europa League campaign gets under way.

“Everyone is disappointed today, which is normal after losing a derby, but this is the fourth game of the season and every team will lose games,” the Belgium midfielder said.

“We have to focus on the next game now and be ready. The first half was difficult, but we created chances as well and it could have been 2-2 at the end of the half, so I think that is not the problem.

“The problem was we needed to be more aggressive to win the first and second balls but we didn’t. However, the attitude was better in the second half.

“We didn’t have the aggression in the first half, but that doesn’t matter now. We have to focus on the next game and we have to win.”

The City match was the first of six September matches, with a Premier League trip to Watford and EFL Cup clash at Northampton following their journey to Holland.

Reigning champions Leicester and then Ukraine’s Zorya Luhansk arrive at Old Trafford during a frantic month that offers United the chance to build up some positive momentum after the City loss.

“We were always in Manchester City’s box causing trouble,” Fellaini told MUTV.

“But we did not hit the target enough so it is always going to be difficult to score. We have 34 more games, so we must win our next game.

“We have to recover quickly because we have a game on Thursday and Sunday. The season will be busy because of those (Europa League) fixtures and we must now be ready for that.”

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