After Saturday's FA Cup final loss to Manchester City, Bruno Fernandes stated that Manchester United had made the "right steps" this season but cautioned that there was still much to be done.
With the fastest goal ever scored in an FA Cup final, Ilkay Gundogan gave the newly crowned Premier League champions the lead after just 13 seconds, but Fernandes equalized for United before halftime.
After the half, City restored their advantage through Gundogan as they dominated big portions of the competition. Fernandes' penalty was the sole effort on goal for United in the first 90 minutes, but Stefan Ortega was late forced to make a couple of saves in stoppage time from Raphael Varane and Scott McTominay.
After receiving his runners-up medal, Fernandes spoke with the BBC and admitted: "Everyone is depressed and it's really difficult. We had hoped to wrap up the season differently, but it was not feasible.
"We've taken the correct steps for the upcoming season; while the season wasn't entirely successful, it was a decent one. We must now look ahead to recharging our batteries, returning the next season with the knowledge that there is still a long way to go before we are in a position to win bigger trophies.
Despite United's slow start, Fernandes refused to blame it, saying: "We got back into the game, we started poorly but came back into it and had nice spells on the ball in the first half.
"We had some good counters after we scored, but we didn't score. After we gave up early in the second half, we still had chances to score again, but we didn't, and City earned the victory.
"The first goal was a beautiful strike, but we were too soft and gave up too much room. It's a remarkable strike, but maybe tighter players could stop it.
While the City players waited to receive the trophy on the Wembley field, Fernandes, who served as captain of United, grabbed the opportunity to congratulate them. In the interview that followed the game, Fernandes lavished admiration on Gundogan. The Portugal international raved, calling him "an amazing player" and "one of the best midfielders in the Premier League."
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