Highlights, Statistics, & Post-Match Quotes | Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Manchester United

MANCHESTER UNITED PLAYER STATISTICS

* David de Gea (goalkeeper): 12/14 passing (86%), 0 goals conceded, 4 saves

* Jonny Evans (right-center-back): 58/60 passing (97%), 6/7 long balls, 1 tackle, 0 interceptions, 15 clearances, 1 shot blocked, 0 fouls

* Rio Ferdinand (left-center-back): 55/56 passing (98%), 12/13 long balls, 1 tackle, 2 interceptions, 3 clearances, 1 shot blocked, 0 fouls

* Rafael (right-back): 78/83 passing (94%), 1 key pass, 0/4 crosses, 4/4 long balls, 6 tackles, 0 interceptions, 6 clearances, 0 shots blocked, 0 fouls, 1 assist

* Patrice Evra (left-back): 70/71 passing (99%), 2 key passes, 0/5 crosses, 2/2 long balls, 1 tackle, 0 interceptions, 7 clearances, 0 shots blocked, 1 foul

* Paul Scholes (central-midfield | substituted off 80'): 74/76 passing (97%), 2 key passes, 0/0 crosses, 24/26 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 0 successful dribbles, 1 tackle, 0 interceptions, 0 shots

* Michael Carrick (central-midfield): 92/100 passing (92%), 1 key pass, 1/3 crosses, 15/17 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 1 successful dribble, 0 tackles, 1 interception, 1 shot (0 on target)

* Phil Jones (central-midfield | substituted off 63'): 36/43 passing (84%), 0 key passes, 1/3 crosses, 3/3 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 0 successful dribbles, 0 tackles, 1 interception, 1 shot (0 on target)

* Wayne Rooney (left-sided attacker): 65/75 passing (87%), 0 key passes, 0/3 crosses, 10/13 long balls, 0/1 through balls, 2 successful dribbles, 1 foul won, 1 tackle, 0 interceptions, 3 shots (1 on target)

* Antonio Valencia (right-sided attacker): 49/59 passing (83%), 4 key passes, 6/21 crosses, 1/1 long balls, 0/1 through balls, 1 successful dribble, 0 fouls won, 4 tackles, 0 interceptions, 2 shots (1 on target), 1 goal, 1 assist

* Javier Hernandez (striker | substituted off 61'): 13/16 passing (81%), 0 key pass, 0/0 crosses, 0/0 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 0 successful dribbles, 0 fouls won, 2 shots (0 on target)

* Danny Welbeck (striker | substituted on 61'): 12/16 passing (75%), 0 key passes, 0/0 crosses, 0/1 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 0 successful dribbles, 1 foul won, 0 shots

* Ryan Giggs (left-winger/central-midfield | substituted off 63'): 19/22 passing (86%), 0 key passes, 2/7 crosses, 1/2 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 2 successful dribbles, 0 fouls won, 0 tackles, 0 interceptions, 0 shots

* Ashley Young (left-winger | substituted on 80'): 9/10 passing (90%), 0 key passes, 0/0 crosses, 2/2 long balls, 0/0 through balls, 0 successful dribbles, 0 fouls won, 0 tackles, 0 interceptions, 1 shot (1 on target), 1 goal

POST-MATCH QUOTES

Sir Alex Ferguson | MUFC manager (courtesy of Sky Sports)

(On the result...) "It was a long night, wasn't it? We just had to persevere and persevere, and in the end we got our reward for it."

(On de Gea and more on the match...) "David de Gea made three fantastic saves to keep us in the game. Although we had all the possession, we couldn't create the openings to get in front. Javier Hernandez hit the post and we had a penalty kick claim - I didn't think it was - so David has done his bit for the team. He has really grown in stature the boy. He was outstanding."

(On Valencia...) "Coming so late in the game, [Valencia's opener] is important because it typifies the history of the club in a way. He hit it with such power it was always going to be a problem for the defenders. It was a fantastic finish. I thought he was the best player on the pitch."

(On the title race...) "We've still got seven games left and my experience of these situations is that it doesn't matter what the points total is at the moment; what is really important is trying to win Sunday's game. We've scored more goals now and that's a big step forward for us. From a deficit of about eighteen, it's now only one. It could come to goal difference, who knows? Now we've scored more goals than City, it's significant. We look as if we can score."

Ashley Young | MUFC winger (courtesy of Sky Sports)

(On the performance, result, and title race...) "It was a massive win for us. We knew if we could win here then we would go five points clear at the top. It was a great result and a great performance. It’s a crucial time in the season - everybody in the team knows that. It’s a squad game, that’s what the manager has said and obviously there were a few changes tonight but everybody in the squad can do a job and we got it done tonight. It’s a massive lead for us and it was a massive game for us. We knew we could get the first goal at some point, whether it was a shot or a cross from Antonio, we were just delighted to see it go in the back of the net. It was a great feeling when the first goal went in. For us to come here and get three points was great, we knew it was going to be a tough game. The boys were resilient throughout the game and we were always going to create chances, thankfully we scored one."

(On focusing on QPR...) "Obviously we just take each game they come. We have got another tough game on Sunday and we look forward to that one. We are five points clear, but we’ve just got to concentrate on each game as they come."

Rafael | MUFC defender (courtesy of MUTV)

(On the clean sheet...) "It was very important to keep a clean sheet because if we don’t let them score, it is a lot easier for our strikers to play. But if they would have gone a goal up, it is a lot harder for our strikers to play."

(On Valencia...) "Antonio is just superb. He plays very naturally and keeps going and going. He is getting better and better with each game. They had 11 players behind the ball so it was hard for us, but thankfully their goalkeeper didn’t see Antonio’s shot for the first goal and it went in to give us the lead."

(On de Gea...) "He is just top-class. He is young and keeps improving. I think he can improve even more in the future."

Steve Kean | Blackburn manager

(Overall thoughts on the match...) "We expected to get something out of this game. We played very well for the majority of the game, their goalkeeper has made a number of good saves and Rio Ferdinand has made one of his best tackles for a number of seasons. We have asked questions of Manchester United and if we can play for the full 90 minutes like we did for 80, we will get enough points to stay away from trouble."