José Mourinho was satisfied with his side's "different kind of performance" in their narrow 1-0 victory at Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
A scintillating second-half strike from Anthony Martial ensured three big points as Manchester United solidified their Premier League position in second place further.
United adapted appropriately
Speaking after full-time at Turf Moor, Mourinho expressed his pleasure in watching the Red Devils put on another professional showing, especially at the back.
"I am [pleased with the result and performance]. It was a different kind of performance you try to have, but it was a performance needed to get a result against a brave team like Burnley.
"We know the way they play, they are better than anyone playing that way and you need to adapt to it to be successful."
The players fought until the end
Although disappointed in United's failure to wrap the game up, he didn't forget to acknowledge the team's defensive work rate to stay ahead when Burnley were throwing everything they had forward - including goalkeeper Nick Pope.
"We adapted well in the defensive point of view and should've scored a second goal and kill it, but we did not and then put ourselves in a difficult position where we really had to fight until the last second.
"The best image of it is Pope in the box for the last couple of crosses, that is the image of how competitive the game was."
The win continued Manchester United's fine start to 2018 and was a fourth straight success without conceding, and José Mourinho explained how a strong set-up is nothing new to his side.
"We have defended well since the beginning of the season. Normally we do not concede many goals. The team is well organised, the defenders are in form and David [De Gea] today, I don't remember anything important, but he is also very crucial for us and we controlled the game well."