Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was pleased with his side's performance, despite the Red Devils struggling to a 2-0 FA Cup third-round win against Yeovil.
An out-of-sorts United side, which included captain Wayne Rooney, David De Gea and Radamel Falcao, toiled for over an hour against the League One outfit until a piece of individual brilliance from Ander Herrera set them on their way.
Herrera marked his FA Cup debut with a thumping 64th-minute effort that left Yeovil goalkeeper Jed Steer clutching at thin air before Angel Di Maria clipped in a second late on.
"It is always difficult to play against such teams,'' Van Gaal told a news conference. "In the second half we played better because we kept the ball and were more patient also. Because of that we could score the winning goal.
"Every ball was put under pressure by our opponent. They did it very good and I have a lot of respect for the players and the coach of Yeovil Town as it wasn't easy for us.
"In the second half we had a little more time and space and then we were better. We are in the next round, we have regained a little bit of ground to Chelsea so what more can you wish for?''
United midfielder Darren Fletcher hopes the hard-fought win will be a game to look back on if Van Gaal's side go on to win the FA Cup.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy,'' Fletcher told BT Sport 1. "It was going to be difficult with tackles flying in. You have to battle before you win the match and we did that today. We battled for 60, 70 minutes and then Ander scored a spectacular goal and sometimes that's what it takes.
"The longer you can keep possession, although it was difficult, the more you tire the opposition out and you can win the game in the last 20 minutes. We knew it was going to be difficult but we're in the draw for the next round.''
The last time United won the FA Cup was in 2004, and Fletcher added: "It's been too long since United have won this competition.
"We really want to win it this year and hopefully we'll look back on our result here as one of the most important ones if we go far in the competition.''
Yeovil manager Gary Johnson hailed his side for running United so close.
"I've just said to the boys they gave it their all there. There were a few coming back from injury and they couldn't finish the game at their best,'' Johnson said.
"We came up against a magnificent side and a great goal and we kept ourselves in it. I can only be proud of our team and our club because they gave it their all.''