Stand-in Manchester United captain Patrice Evra has hailed the recent performances of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney following the Manchester derby victory.

Both forwards were on the scoresheet as United snatched a dramatic win over local rivals and fellow championship-chasers City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Van Persie has scored 14 goals since his £24m switch from Arsenal, while Rooney has found the net four times in his last two outings, and Evra has praised their contribution to United's Premier League title push.

"Robin is perfect for Manchester United," Evra told TalkSPORT. "When he scored the hat-trick at Southampton he also missed a penalty. The first thing he said when he came back to the dressing room was that he was really sorry for missing the penalty.

"That shows the hunger, humility and personality he has to win trophies. He is not just scoring for himself. He really wants the team to win something.

"A lot of people criticised Wayne at the beginning of the season, asking why he didn't score so many goals. Last week he scored two goals. On Sunday he got two again. He is a really important player for us."

Evra has captained United regularly over the past 18 months when official skipper Nemanja Vidic has been absent through injury.