Derby County boss Paul Jewell was pleased with his players, despite their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United.
The hosts were undone by a Cristiano Ronaldo in the second-half and Jewell said: "There are ways to lose matches, and today we lost with a bit of dignity and went down fighting.
"On Wednesday it really was men against boys, whereas the players showed character today, although we rode our luck early on because if a goal had gone in it might have been a different story.
"But it didn't and we grew into the game, and we probably created more chances today than we have in a lot of games this season.
"It was a pleasing performance, and although we've lost again, I can accept it, and we have to take heart from it."