Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini says the team were not aggressive enough in their 2-1 home derby defeat against Manchester City on Saturday.
Fellaini, 28, has played 90 minutes in all four of United's league games so far this season and also in the Community Shield. The Belgian midfielder has been booked in successive games, receiving one yellow card for a robust challenge against Hull City then another one for a trailing arm against Manchester City.
Discussing United's difficult first half in the derby, Fellaini told MUTV: "The problem was we needed to be more aggressive to win the first and second balls but we didn't. However, the attitude was better in the second half.
"We didn't have the aggression in the first half, but that doesn't matter now. We have to focus on the next game and we have to win."
United's next game is away against Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday, which is followed by another away match against Watford in the Premier League on Sunday.
"We have to recover quickly because we have a game on Thursday and Sunday," Fellaini added. "The season will be busy because of those [Europa League] fixtures and we must now be ready for that."
The midfielder also called for United to be more ruthless in front of goal, saying: "We were always in the box of Manchester City causing trouble. But we did not hit the target enough so it is always going to be difficult to score."