(Manchester United News)
Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera described Saturday's win over Aston Villa as one of the best games of his professional career after his first-ever double helped the Reds to a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford.
The Spaniard scored at the end of each half to ensure a fifth straight league win for Louis van Gaal's side, one which enabled United to leapfrog rivals Manchester City into third place in the Barclays Premier League ahead of the Blues' trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Herrera's sixth and seventh strikes of the season mean he has now bettered his best-ever tally for one campaign, a figure he is keen to enhance further.
“It was a great day, one of the best in my professional career," he told MUTV. "It's the first time I have scored twice in my professional career, so of course I am very happy.
"It is not finished, we have to fight, there are still seven more games and the next one is a derby. It’s very important for us, very important for our supporters as well. Now, I think we’re on the right road, we’re in good form, in a good moment and we are ready for the derby.
“It is my top scoring season in my professional career. Now, I want to keep scoring more to help the team because that’s the most important thing. I feel happy and lucky because I can play at a stadium like Old Trafford. I feel that the supporters are supporting me."
The victory means the Reds have a stronger foothold in the top four, ahead of two vitally important fixtures against City and Chelsea, but Herrera says the players are looking up.
“I think we are now eight points above Liverpool and nine points above Southampton, and Tottenham are playing tomorrow. We are in a good position in our objective, but we are optimistic, we want to be even higher and we are going to fight to be second or third. We are Manchester United.”
On next Sunday's home showdown with City, Herrera said: “A derby is always a derby. It’s going to be a very good game for supporters, and we are lucky because we’re going to play in front of our fans at Old Trafford. We feel confident when we play at Old Trafford in front of them, and now we have seven days to think about Manchester City, they play on Monday night and we can watch their game. Of course, we can’t wait to play the derby in front of our fans and we're in a good moment."
Herrera set up fellow countryman Juan Mata to score the first goal during United's 2-1 win over Liverpool before the international break, a favour which was returned for the Reds' final goal of the afternoon against Villa. Saturday's match-winner says he is delighted to have formed a partnership with his compatriot, but insisted that recent results can be attributed to a team effort.
“I think we’re both happy to play together, but I always say the same thing, we are 25 players," he added.
"Everyone is ready to play and to help the team. At the moment me and Juan are playing but maybe the manager will decide another thing and we have to respect our team-mates. Everyone has the quality and capacity to play at Manchester United. There are not only 11 players here."
