Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says his side should have taken advantage of five first-half chances against Everton.
The Red Devils suffered one of their heaviest defeats of the season on Sunday when they lost 3-0 away at Everton in what the Dutchman described as a fair result.
The defeat means United fail to leapfrog rivals Manchester City in the table with four games left in the Premier League.
"Everton deserved to win - when the result is fair, you can live with it," van Gaal is quoted as saying by the BBC.
"We have always had more fighting spirit on the pitch and I think that this is the first match that the other team have shown more of that than us.
"We created five chances in the first half - Marouane Fellaini had to score - that is more than Everton.
"In the second half they scored on the counter and we had to play against a defensive side.
"This was the first match when I saw a team that was more motivated and aggressive than us. It is not good, but we are human beings.
"We have to see that our opponents will defend more and cope with that as a club."
