The former Portugal coach admitted they missed Deco, who suffered an injury during the warm-up.
“In the first half I think we felt because we could not play Deco, we had in this situation three players in the same line,” Scolari told Sky Sports.
“They (United) controlled more of the game. Deco is the man that comes to the other line to receive the ball and to work the ball.
“They controlled the game for five, 10, 15 minutes and they played better than us and made a goal.
“After this, we improved some things, but we lost chances in front of goal and this is our mistake.”
Scolari added: “I think it was the right result. After the game, if we see the first half and the second half, there were chances for us and for Manchester.
“It’s a normal result. We have more chances, but we miss some chances.
“The game is the best game we have played because we have many problems, and I think for Manchester it’s the same.”
