Jose Mourinho has reserved special praise forthe contributions of two of his Manchester United stars after Wednesday's 1-0 EFL Cup triumph over Manchester City.
Juan Mata's solitary strike was enough for the Red Devils to progress to the quarter-finals at the expense of their city rivals, and helped relieve some of the pressure on Mourinho after a run of just one win in five matches in all competitions.
Speaking to MUTV following the clash, with his quotes published by the Manchester Evening News, Mourinho stated that Marcos Rojo and Ander Herrera had been the two biggest plus points on the night for him.
Marcos Rojo MOTM. Deserves credit for his good performance tonight
Rojo made his fourth start of the season - and seventh appearance under the Portuguese boss - in the victory at Old Trafford following injuries to defensive duo Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling, and turned in a virtuoso display that had Mourinho purring at the end of the encounter.
He said: "We are used to playing with Bailly and Smalling and we lose both. You have to play with two left-footed central defenders and Marcos has not played for quite a long time. He played phenomenal to be honest.
"We were getting confidence step by step and started to trust our defensive organisation."
Love this from @AnderHerrera! 🔴
Read more about his passion for #MUFC: https://t.co/8gZa5mud1O pic.twitter.com/ICcUzU21Bc
Mourinho also lauded midfielder Herrera for his tenacity in the middle of the park, and admitted that the Spain international helped to change the dynamic of the game by pressing City's players with greater urgency as United went in search of winning the second Manchester derby of the campaign.
Herrera has already won plaudits for his tireless performances for the Red Devils this term - a trait that the 27-year-old has not been renowned for in the past - but Mourinho insisted his midfielder deserved praise for the display against Pep Guardiola's side.
He added: "In the second half, especially Herrera, Carrick and Pogba, they increased the tempo. I think Ander brought the team to different levels of intensity in our pressing."
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