Jose Mourinho pleased with midfield three in Manchester derby

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has paid tribute to Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick and Paul Pogba following Wednesday's 1-0 win over Manchester City in the League Cup.

An underwhelming first 45 minutes produced few chances for either side, but Man United improved after the interval and secured their spot in the quarter-finals courtesy of a strike from Juan Mata.

Mourinho has said that his midfield trio's willingness to press higher up the field was a key contributor to the victory, which ensured that Man City are now without a win in their last six games in all competitions.

"We were getting confident step by step, we were starting to trust our defensive organisation," Mourinho told MUTV. "Then in the second half, especially Herrera, Carrick and Pogba, they increased the tempo. They started pressing higher.

"I thought Ander brought the team to different levels of intensity and pressing. Then we started recovering balls and being dangerous."

Next up for Man United is a Premier League clash at home to Burnley on Saturday afternoon.