Jose Mourinho has praised his Manchester United team for remaining in the hunt for a Premier League top-four place.

The Red Devils claimed a straightforward 3-0 win at struggling Sunderland to climb back to fifth in the table, four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.

Mourinho told reporters after the game: "The result was good. We resisted the results of yesterday when Manchester City and Liverpool won, they left us in a position of 'yes' or 'no'. It was 'yes'.

"[The game] was open at 0-0. We were in control without danger. We were playing quite compact and solid. You need these players to break it. Every team has a couple of them. Zlatan did that. We felt the game was in our pocket. In this beautiful weather the game was played at a more slow intensity.

"We got three points and it was a solid display. It was against a team that is sad, it's normal. Against a team that is sad, if you score before then it's difficult for them to react. You could feel the negative feeling around the team. That is felt with a team close to relegation."

Up next for Manchester United in the league is a home fixture against Chelsea next Sunday.