Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal was delighted after his side battled past Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils struggled in the early stages of the game but took full advantage of a Spurs defensive mistake to take the lead in the 22nd minute of the game.
Kyle Walker's own goal was enough for van Gaal's men to take all three points and kick-off their Premier League campaign with a win.
"It was a very difficult game because it was two teams who wanted to press, so every player was on the ball for a small amount of time," van Gaal told reporters.
"We didn't keep the ball too much but, in transitions, we created a few chances. We could not cope well with their pressure but we had a lot of possibilities.
"They had the first chance through Christian Eriksen and then it [would become] another game, so we were lucky today."
As the Dutchman predicted on Friday, goalkeeper David De Gea was not even on the bench with Sergio Romero expected to keep his regular place at least until the end of the transfer window.
"He [David De Gea] has been our best player for two years chosen by the fans so we cannot let him go easily," van Gaal explained.
"We have to pay a lot of money for all the players we want and we want to sell at the same level. We want to keep him, of course.
"As a keeper, you need the highest concentration for 90 minutes and it's difficult for David to do that in his current situation. We saw that in the tour matches. When the situation is cleared after 1 September, we'll look again."
