Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United fans can take their hats off to his side now they are the best team in Manchester again.
United, who had not beaten Manchester City since 2012, won a derby 4-2 at Old Trafford to go four points ahead of their local rivals and, as he noted, record an aggregate triumph over Manuel Pellegrini's side this season, despite their 1-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in November.
"We are this moment four points ahead so that is a fact," said Van Gaal in a news conference. "This week the fans can go on the streets, hat up and say: 'We are the better team because goal average is in our favour.'"
Van Gaal was critical of the way his side began but delighted with their response as Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata and Chris Smalling all scored.
"We started very badly," the Dutchman added. "It was not Manchester United, we were very nervous. I don't know why. We had no pressure on the ball. I don't know why. But when we scored the goal, from that moment we had more confidence.
"The second half was fantastic. Maybe [it is] the best feeling [as United manager] but not the best performance because we started very badly, more or less like against Burnley but after the assist of David de Gea [for Young's goal], we are regaining our confidence and we scored the second goal from a fantastic attack also."
Van Gaal said winger Young, who supplied the cross for Fellaini's goal, was his man of the match, while he also praised the Belgian.
"He was fantastic," he said. "He was our best player. When you have a big contribution you can play in a team and Ashley has done that. He has always played with me. Fellaini also because he was injured a lot of times but from day one he is the player who is always doing what I asked. You can say [he was] not always very good but [he was] never bad. That is also important for a manager that a player always gives a certain level of performance.
"The fans also see that he is very important for the team. He scores goals, he beats pressure when we need it and he plays always the ball to the same colour [shirt]."