Ander Herrera joined the NBC crew after Manchester United topped Chelsea 2-0 at Old Trafford, and he was all praises for his teammates and manager.

The Spaniard told Steve Bower, Robbie Mustoe, and Graeme Le Saux that Manchester United played as close to perfection as they could have hoped against the team at the top of the table.

“You cannot say perfect ever in football because you always have some things to improve,” Herrera said. “But it was very close to being perfect. We have played a fantastic game against the top of the table, the best team in my opinion so far.”

When asked about his assignment to man-mark Eden Hazard, Herrera built Hazard up, saying he’s the best player in the Premier League and that he is in the upper eschelon of players in the world, but that he was asked to do a job defensively, so he did it.

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“It’s difficult, but it was my job today,” Herrera said. “I am a team player. I will play where the manager wants me to play, if he wants me to play as a keeper one day, I will do it.”

Manchester United played a defensive-minded style, but that is Jose Mourinho’s trademark, and the Red Devils completely shut down the Blues while scoring some scrappy goals in the process. Herrera sang his manager’s praises, knowing that their high press and well organized defense kept the Blues at bay.

“I think the manager did very good because we controlled their strengths, and we are very happy of course,” Herrera said.

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Manchester United now sits just four points back of Champions League play with a game in hand on the rest of the top four, and there are two fronts now via which the Red Devils can realistically qualify for Europe’s top competition. With a decisive Europa League match against Anderlecht to come on Thursday, Herrera hopes this qualify result can give Manchester United a boost moving forward.

“We really fought like a team, and we can be very happy because we have a lot of things to fight for with one month to play, and this game can really push us.”

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