Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal have said that his club have proven themselves to be better than Manchester City following their emphatic derby win.
He said in a statement :
"You are playing for the fans. In the beginning of the season, it was not so fantastic to be a United fan,"
"This week, they can go on the street and lift their hats, and say we are this year the better team.
"At this moment we are four points ahead of Manchester City,that's a fact. We still have six matches to go and that can be changes again."
On Fellaini who deliverd a strong performance and received a standing ovation from the Old Trafford faithful when he was replaced in the second half,Van Gaal said :
"He is very important for the team, he has scored goals under big pressure when we needed him. He always plays the ball to the same colour which is very important. I'm very happy for him.
"Fellaini from day one is the player who always did what I asked. You can say not always very good but never badly. That's always important for a manager that a player gives a certain level of performance."
Van Gaal's philosophy has been questioned by many since his arrival at Old Trafford,but he feels his players should be praised for handling the pressure and managing a switch in formation to 4-3-3 in recent weeks.
"We have made already big steps in the last 6 games, because after the defeat against Arsenal it was very difficult for my team to stand up and to maintain our confidence in the philosophy,
"I have to say all the credit to the players because they have to do it under pressure, under the expectations of the fans because the fans were expecting today that we would win, and of course after the match you can say we have won but it is not so easy, you can see also the stress of the players in the first 10 minutes."
Van Gaal was also full of praise for Ashley Young :
"Yeah I think Ashley Young was man of the match… I've seen it on television! So I think that is right because I found that also, he was very good.
"He was involved with the first 3 goals, very important goals, and he did his job as a left winger. When he was left midfielder he let in 1 goal but OK, I can…how do you say… I can accept it."
The United boss also revealed Michael Carrick is set for further tests after he was withdrawn from the action late on with a tight calf muscle.
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