Ralf Rangnick admitted he could not savour Manchester United's 'dirty' away win at Norwich as they invited too much pressure in the second-half.
Norwich had 11 attempts at United's goal and won eight corners as David de Gea was forced into fine saves from Teemu Pukki and Ozan Kabak either side of Cristiano Ronaldo's winner from the penalty spot.
United have kept two successive Premier League clean sheets for the first time since March under Rangnick and, although the German was unhappy with aspects of their defending, he believes they are defending more unison.
"You can only achieve that as a whole team," Rangnick said of the defensive improvement. "It is not only the back four or the two sixes or the goalkeeper. The whole team has to defend in unison, together as a team.
"So far we have two clean sheets in the league. One-nil again today. It was a difficult game. We call those dirty away wins, 1-0. Those normally are the nicest ones but today in the second-half, in my opinion, we conceded too many corners and free-kicks from the side.
"So until the very last minute, the game could have gone in the other direction. We needed a fantastic goalkeeper, a few headers from the centre of defence to keep a clean sheet.
"We were fully aware how Norwich would probably play today but, on the other hand, it is a question of how you react to that. The reaction of the team is vital, especially in away games.
"In the end, we had another clean sheet, which is most important, and another three points. Although last Sunday, which was a home game against Crystal Palace, who didn’t attack as high and intense as Norwich did today.
"It is about taking next steps. It is easier to take those steps if you are winning games. It was the third consecutive win in this season and the second clean sheet. Those are the things we can build up upon.
"In defence, the full-backs, centre-backs and two sixes did extremely well. Now we have to try and raise the level we play against the ball up front."
