United Veteran Claims Club Will Use Shakhtar Performance as Springboard in Premier League

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic claims his players are happy with their performance against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday and will use it as a springboard in the Premier League.

The Red Devils took the lead in the first half through Danny Welbeck but conceded 14 minutes from time to Taison, ending the Group A fixture at the Donbass Arena at 1-1. Shakhtar had both beaten Chelsea and Arsenal in Ukraine in recent years and Vidic considers the result as a point earned, rather than two points dropped.

"It is a tough place to come as they have a good team and some good players. We knew it was going to be difficult but we went 1-0 up and we had a good start. But then they began to push forward and had possession. I don't think they created a lot of chances yet they managed to score a goal. In the end I don't think we should be unhappy with our performance, if we look at the games we played over the last few weeks," the Serb stressed.

Vidic also pointed out that United can take heart from their display against Shakhtar and improve their performances in their upcoming matches in the Premier League.

The defending champions are currently 12th in the table, eight points behind early leaders Arsenal. The Red Devils lost their last two league fixtures, a 4-1 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad and a 2-1 loss at home to West Bromwich Albion.

"It is not just us who have started badly in the Premier League. If you look at the other teams who compete for the title, they haven't had great starts either. I think we will have some tough matches this season. I don't think we played as we can today, but from this match there was some improvement and hopefully we can improve our form and get a few more wins," Vidic said.

United visit the Stadium of Light to take on bottom-placed Sunderland on Saturday.