Manchester United 'the better team by far' vs Chelsea, insists Ander Herrera

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Simon Peach20 May 2018

Ander Herrera believes Manchester United need to keep calm and carry on in the wake of their FA Cup final defeat.

Saturday's season-defining trip to Wembley ended in a galling 1-0 loss to Chelsea, leaving Jose Mourinho lamenting a trophyless second campaign in the Old Trafford dugout.

United won the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield in the Portuguese's first season at the helm, although they also stumbled home sixth in the Premier League.

The Red kicked on to finish runners-up this time around, with Herrera focusing on such positives rather than the FA Cup defeat and 19-point gap to champions Manchester City.

"I think we are going to the right way," the Spanish midfielder said.

"This season, we cannot take credit out from what Man City have done because they deserve to be champions and they have been almost perfect this season, or perfect.

"I think we have to keep going in this way. I think we are doing things right and try to be back playing finals.

"I think I've been here already four seasons and I have played a lot of finals here, which is very good.

"This club is about trophies but first of all to win trophies you have to play finals and I think we are doing that."

Pushed on whether he was pleased with United's progress this season, Herrera added: "I think we've done good.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Manchester United, FA Cup Final | 19/05/2018

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"Normally in a normal Premier League we should have been fighting for the title with the amount of points we had.

"But Man City did perfect, so the only thing we can do is try to do the same next season.

"Try to not make some mistakes that we made this season - some games that we should have won against teams that - with all my respect for the team - we should win those games.

"As I told you, keep fighting for titles, keep coming to Wembley - hopefully - and that's all we can do."

There is, though, no doubt that United could have done more this weekend at Wembley.

A tepid first-half response to Eden Hazard's penalty was followed by an improved display after the break, yet sustained pressure rarely threatened to bring an equaliser.

Herrera bristled when it was suggested that United had failed to create many clear-cut chances, listing their attempts in painstaking detail after a match he felt his side deserved to win.

"Really disappointed because I think we were the better team by far," he added.

"I think we controlled the game. We played really well, we created a lot of problems and we were the better team.

"But in football, not always the better team wins the game, so I can congratulate them and hopefully we can come back next season."

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