Athletic take pride in United success

Óscar de Marcos said that the fruit of Athletic Club coach Marcelo Bielsa’s philosophy was clear to see after the Spanish side outpassed and outshone Manchester United FC in a stunning 3-2 UEFA Europa League victory at Old Trafford.

De Marcos, scorer of the second Athletic goal, had a huge grin on his face as he reflected on a night to remember for the visitors, who had ten attempts on target to United's five. It was an evening to forget for United, now beaten in successive European home games for the first time since 1996, and facing "a big challenge" to turn this round of 16 tie around in next week's second leg, according to Michael Carrick.

Óscar de Marcos, Athletic midfielder
The key thing was, we had the ball the whole game. It is our philosophy, as the manager has taught us, to keep the ball and thanks to this we created a lot of chances. [Scoring at Old Trafford] is something I won't forget as long as I live, I will always remember it. I'm thrilled. This is a night to smile, to enjoy – all our fans have enjoyed it and it is great for everyone who has always supported us.

It is clear that 3-2 keeps them in it more, unfortunately it was my handball [for Wayne Rooney's late penalty]. It is a shame after all the work the team put in, but we have to be happy with the result. Before we came everyone would have taken a win at the 'Theatre of Dreams'. The coach is putting it in our heads that nobody is better than us, that we can compete with any team and we did that against one of the best teams in the world.

Javi Martínez, Athletic defender
We played very well against a great team like United. We just wanted to play like we always do. We have an idea of the game that we are always faithful to, no matter who we play against, and we tried to be true to that and it worked out for us. There's a lot of work to do still – they're a great team. It won't be easy but we have the advantage. The fans were incredible. They helped us enjoy it, made it easier for us, and the truth is that it was something unforgettable.

Michael Carrick, United midfielder
Going forward, at times we looked quite dangerous but overall they had a lot of chances and a lot of attempts, and it is not like us. We were well aware of how good they are and the threats they have. We didn't do well enough. There were times in the game when we were OK and looked a threat but overall it was not good enough. It was going to be tough to go there anyway next week and we have given ourselves a big challenge but we'll be up for it. We have done it before, our away form is very good and we will look to that next week.

Jonny Evans, United defender
We've got a lot of experience going away in Europe and hopefully that will help us when we go over there. David de Gea probably kept the score down for us – he pulled off some good saves.