Mark Hughes hailed the impact of young duo Michael Obafemi and Yan Valery after the 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
Valery was rewarded with his Premier League debut following a positive display against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, with Obafemi making his first start for the club.
“I think the energy of the young lads coming in like Michael and Yan as well, who I thought was great today in his first Premier League start and his home debut and up against Manchester United which sometimes will overawe young players,” Hughes reflected.
“It didn’t phase Yan and I thought he was excellent and Michael gave us good energy before he tired before the end. Those have been two really good positives.
“And we’ve got the likes of Stuart Armstrong who looks really adept at this level and is having a real impact for us.
“We had good intensity and when we broke from midfield there was a lot of power and we had pace ahead of the ball as well. There’s times where we don’t pick the right option but I thought we were always a problem for United.
“Overall, I thought it was a good performance. Elements that we need to be better at and moments in games where we need to make the right decisions.”