Of particular annoyence to Roberto Martinez was the decision of referee Michael Oliver to award Manchester United a penalty for what was a clear dive by Danny Welbeck as Ali Al-Habsi came out to challenge him.
Speaking about the afternoon's events as his side went down 4-0 to the Premier League runners up last season, Martinez was keen to focus on the positives.
He said: “The fans were phenomenal and it was a real shame we couldn’t repay their support. We all felt empty at the end of the game because we wanted to give them a day to be really proud of their club.
“Their voice helped us in the first half when we had a massive role in the game and we need to learn how to build from that inspiration in the future.
“They were the reason we started and performed so well in the first half and it’s a shame we couldn’t give them what they deserved today.”
“We want to come to places like this and get results like did at other big venues last season, but you know it’s going to be a tough ask when decisions start to go against you as early as the fourth minute (Manchester United penalty after Welbeck went down inside the area).
“Welbeck should also have received a straight red card for his challenge on Franco (Di Santo) at the end of the game, and you need mentally strong referees to make these decisions regardless of their surroundings and the teams playing, but unfortunately I thought the game was too big for the referee.
“So it felt as though it was going to be one of those days that the decisions wouldn’t go our way, but looking back I’m very happy with the first half performance and we know the aspects of our game that we need to improve.
“There are good characters in the dressing room ready for the challenges of the Premier League and they showed that in the first half, so they’ll have no trouble shaking this from their system.
“To go eye-to-eye with Manchester United you need maturity and we had that, arguably you could say we were the better side throughout the first 45 minutes which shows how far we’ve come.”