Bruno Fernandes believes Manchester United must defeat Manchester City to help supporters forget about their mid-week defeat to RB Leipzig and subsequent exit from the Champions League.
United needed a point against the Bundesliga side to secure their place in the last 16 of the competition but crashed out despite a late comeback in Germany.
Fernandes publicly apologised to fans for United's failure to qualify from their group, stating the team needs to improve their performances at such a big club.
United have the opportunity to make amends in the first Manchester derby of the season at Old Trafford today but Fernandes believes no fixture is perfect coming off a crushing defeat.
However, the midfielder conceded a win against their rivals will soften the blow of their mid-week heartbreak.
"You never have a perfect game to come off a defeat like that because you come out of the Champions League and it’s hard to take," he told ManUtd.com.
"Obviously, you know in football, when you win a game like that [the derby], the past becomes history.
"So, for me, no [it doesn’t help the pain of Champions League exit]. For the people around the club: the supporters and fans, of course, it will help them to forget that defeat against Leipzig and going out of the Champions League.
"But, of course, we know winning against Manchester City will give us the spin we need to keep going."
Fernandes' efforts for United were rewarded with a Premier League Player of the Month award for November, his third since joining the club back in January.
The Portuguese experienced his first Manchester derby back in March when United ran out 2-0 winners at Old Trafford and Fernandes is keen for another positive result.
He added: "I think derbies are good to play. For supporters, it means [a lot]. I already played in a derby in Portugal, one of the biggest derbies we have: Sporting v Benfica.
"I know the feeling to play that kind of game, but I also know the feeling we players have to win those sorts of games because it means so much for the fans, for the supporters, for everyone in the club, but also for us it means a lot.
"We want to do well; we need to win in the Premier League and we want to do good performances against big teams so we can show that we are at the top, and that we can do much better."
