Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says Rafael Benitez adopted an intelligent approach with his Newcastle United side in the Magpies' 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
A mistake by Victor Lindelof allowed Newcastle to take a surprise lead in the 14th minute through Dwight Gayle, but Anthony Martial levelled matters in the 37th minute.
Chris Smalling then made sure Mourinho's men would go in ahead at the break when he connected with a ball from Ashley Young in first half stoppage time.
Paul Pogba marked his return to action by putting Manchester United 3-1 up in the 54th minute, while Romelu Lukaku capped off the Red Devils' display by striking in the 70th minute.
Manchester United had taken all three points and Mourinho saluted Benitez for causing his side problems, however he believes the hosts could have won by an even larger margin.
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“We played very well after their goal. They started better, were organsied and compact", Mourinho told the BBC.
"Rafael Benitez is very intelligent and they created problems but we did well.
"The result could have been a little bit bigger than it was."
Manchester United's win means the gap to league leaders Manchester City has not grown, with the Red Devils still eight points behind Pep Guardiola's Citizens outfit.
Mourinho next takes his side to Switzerland to play Basel in the Champions League.
