Manchester United's goal was pretty but the win was not, and manager Michael Carrick will know his men ground out their 1-0 victory over Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday.
Benjamin Sesko helped start a counter attack and then let loose with a 70-yard run to convert a pass from Bryan Mbeumo and give United a 1-0 second-half lead against the run of play.
MORE — Everton v Man United recap, analysis, video highlights
Man United keeper Senne Lammens had a good day between the sticks including a terrific 83rd-minute save, and Carrick's United put distance between themselves and top-five rivals Chelsea and Liverpool.
The fourth-place Red Devils are onto 48 points, three more than the Blues and Reds and three less than third-place Aston Villa.
Michael Carrick reaction — What did Manchester United manager say after win at Everton?
Good performance? "Certainly was. We had to do a lot of work tonight. Credit to Everton they made it difficult. But I thought the spirit, the way we defended as a team, was top class. In the end the clean sheet was great. Listen we can play better than that, a lot better in some aspects."
How about Sesko's goal? "Great finish. It was a ruthless finish. He put it away with real confidence. Great play from Matheus and Bryan to set it up. We've got the players to do that on the break. Delighted for Ben, coming on to help us again."
Cunha made a great pass to set it up: "Fantastic from deep. He had to do a bit of defending especially in the second half. It was some pass over the top and the next couple of bits from Bryan and Ben finished it off. We needed a whole team performance because of the pressure Everton put us under."
How important was Senne Lammens in goal? "He made a couple of really good saves. He looked really calm and composed in a tough environment. A lot of corners coming in under his bar and a lot of bodies. Good clean catches and he was immense for us tonight."
This interim spell couldn't have gone much better so far, could it? "I'm delighted with the result and the spirit, and the boys digging deep and sacrificing for each other. It gives me a lot of encouragement going forward. But there's still so much to come from us in a positive way."
Sesko set to start? "Listen, Ben's in a good place at the moment. We've had some really good talks about it. Patience is one thing and building him and growing, developing him as a player. He's a patient and he understands he's going to be a big player for us for a while now. We've got some good forwards players. The balance has been good and we need to continue that."
Benjamin Sesko reaction — ‘It’s up to me to deliver’
Another second-half winner for you: "It was really important for us to win this game. It was really difficult. We were fighting. They were fighting. It was a 50/50 battle but we secured the win."
Are you making a case to start games? "It's just important that when I come inside I use the time to help the team whether five minutes or 90 minutes. It's just about showing I can deliver."
Did you feel confident you'd come into the game and score? "I believe in me and the players help as well. They know what they're going to get when I arrive in the game and it's up to me to deliver."