Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes admitted the club can be pleased with the progress they have made this season despite Saturday's FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City.
United, who arrived at Wembley having not tasted success in the FA Cup since 2016, were edged out 2-1 by their cross-city rivals, who got the job done thanks to two goals from Ilkay Gundogan. The German scored either side of a Fernandes penalty, including the game's opening goal after just 13 seconds, to ensure the trophy would return to the blue half of Manchester.
It meant that United ended the campaign by missing out on the opportunity to add another trophy to their collection. They had ended their six-year trophy drought with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final back in February.
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But despite their slender defeat to City, United brought their season to a close in the knowledge that they had made sufficient progress, qualifying for next season's Champions League in addition to winning the Carabao Cup. Although Fernandes was understandably saddened not to have lifted the FA Cup, he reflected positively on Erik ten Hag's maiden season at the helm.
"As I said prior to this game, it has been a good season," Fernandes told ITV Sport. "We have not been successful in the FA Cup or in the league, but we were successful in the Carabao Cup.
"Overall it was a good season, a season of new beginnings and a new era with a new coach, where we feel like we are now in a better position. Now we have to make the right steps in the right direction for next season to do better."
Defeat at Wembley also meant that City are now just one win away from completing the treble. They have won the Premier League title and the FA Cup and will now have ambitions of completing the set by beating Inter Milan in next Saturday's Champions League final in Istanbul.
"It hurts for the fans and everything, but there is nothing we can do for that," added Fernandes. "City won today, deservedly.
"Now they have the Champions League final, we know that they are the favourites to win it, but records are there to be broken. Unfortunately they could break one of our records, but they are a great team."
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