The Belgian goalkeeper endured a difficult afternoon in the previous weekend's defeat to Spurs, when an unfortunate own goal from a corner contributed to Chelsea losing at Stamford Bridge.
But the 21-year-old responded with an impressive performance against Liverpool in midweek before keeping a clean sheet in Saturday's victory over United.
Penders believes the important thing after making an error is how a player reacts, rather than allowing the disappointment to affect subsequent performances.
“To have something like that is part of football and part of my journey,” he said.
“You will make mistakes, but then it's about how you react, and I am very happy I could bring some positivity on the pitch today.”
The goalkeeper was particularly important during a competitive first half against United, making two saves to deny Amad Diallo as the visitors looked to take control.
His most impressive intervention came in stoppage time, when Bryan Mbeumo unleashed a powerful effort from distance. Penders got his fingertips to the ball and diverted it onto the crossbar, preserving Chelsea's two-goal advantage.
“It was a very hard shot and I didn't see him coming,” he explained. “But in the end, I was able to get my fingers onto it and I was very happy [to make that save].”
Chelsea had needed a response after consecutive defeats against Tottenham and Liverpool, the latter coming in a Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out.
Penders was pleased with the collective reaction and felt the performance against United demonstrated the team's ability to recover from setbacks.
“I think as a team as well, we have reacted very well after the last two games. I think against Liverpool we played a good game, and today we did a great job,” he said.
Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock shortly after half-time with an individual effort before Cole Palmer converted a penalty to make it 2-0.
United had threatened in the first half, with Matheus Cunha seeing a goal ruled out for offside, but Chelsea remained composed after taking the lead.
“I think we just played our football. We stayed calm and were very controlled in our game. I think that was very important,” Penders added.
“Of course, sometimes they have chances. For example, the goal that was disallowed in the first half. But it's important to keep your head in the game and that's what we did. It was a good win for us.”
The clean sheet was another encouraging step for Penders, who has shown an ability to put a difficult moment behind him and contribute to Chelsea's response.