Rio took it all in his stride, "We didn't feel any extra pressure because of the criticism that was flying around. You would never come to play for United in a match at Old Trafford and not put yourself under pressure. That is just part and parcel of being a United player.
But Alan Smith reacted differently, "It does hurt when people boo you. Everybody thinks we just walked off the pitch on Saturday and forgot about it. We didn't. We spoke about it on Sunday morning during training and it wasn't nice. The manager said we needed big players like Ruud and Ryan Giggs to show their quality and experience and they did.
"It is easy to feel sorry for yourself but you don't get owt for that. You've not only got to be a very good player but a strong character to play for this club. Nobody learns anything from winning all the time. Sometimes it just covers over the cracks. Sometimes, when losing games, you can see who the players are, who wants to get the ball, who wants to win.”