Jose Mourinho: "We need to improve"

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has insisted that his side "need to improve" despite claiming their fourth straight win in the Premier League.

Goals from Daley Blind, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped the Red Devils to all three points against former manager David Moyes's Sunderland side at Old Trafford, extending their unbeaten league run to nine games and keeping them within four points of the top four.

"I didn't like the first-half performance. I like the result. I liked very much the second half. The first half I didn't like. I was expecting us to start much better," Mourinho told reporters afterwards.

"I know David Moyes and Sunderland deserved credit for what they did in the first half. Second half we had everything back, intensity, recover the ball high in the pitch, play fast passes and to have players like Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the bench helps. We deserve the victory.

"We have played well for a long time. I think our game against Burnley was absolutely phenomenal. We played better against Burnley than today. The good performances we had for quite some time. Finally we have the good results, four victories and 12 points in a row. The players know the principles of how we play and they are comfortable but we need to improve."

Next up for Mourinho's men is a home encounter with Middlesbrough on New Year's Eve.