“It was a tough game,” said Nuno. “There was always the question of the response from the players because of the quick turnaround and no-one quite knew but the players were amazing, they prepared themselves very well.

“We were effective when we arrived at the box and we worked hard in defence to keep a clean sheet. I am really pleased with the way the players worked for it, they fought for every ball and this is what pleases me the most.

“It is always good when you start games well but this is the first match as we have a lot of things to improve and growing is always our aim.

“We will challenge ourselves to improve the way we play and our game and our ideas with the same philosophy, while staying humble and being brave.”

Uncharacteristic mistakes and a slack start ultimately cost the Blades, making it an uphill struggle from the start. But manager Chris Wilder was pleased with the way his team responded and stuck to their task.

“I thought it was actually a positive first half performance – but the game kicked off at six minutes past six for us and unfortunately we were 2-0 down by the time it kicked off.

“It’s a difficult position to be in against a side of that quality but I’m not surprised by their attitude or character.

“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb but no players went missing and they all stuck at it and if we could have shown a bit more quality and composure when we got into the good positions we created then we could have got back into the game.

“It was fine margins. I think some of our build-up play was really good. The group stuck at it and didn’t cave in and didn’t get the white flag out and all those things and stayed in the game and got a foothold in it and pushed and pushed.

“But no complaints about the result. I’ve got a couple of complaints about the manner of the two goals as they were avoidable from our point of view.”