Tom Cleverley hailed Manchester United's defenders after victory at Newcastle United.

Cleverley, who heads off on England duty for the World Cup double-header against San Marino and Poland, was quick to pay tribute to the defenders for their part in the 3-0 success.

"We all knew it was going to be a tough game," he conceded. "Starting like we did was fantastic for us - not just the goals but we were playing really well. I think it took them 20 minutes to cope with us and we were 2-0 up by then and in control. We hit them on the counter-attack times and I thought we really controlled the second half.

"Away from home, any clean sheet is massive. Despite all the balls Newcastle put into the box, the back four and keeper were fantastic and fully deserved the clean sheet.

"We know we've got goals in the team and we've got players who can assist goals from everywhere. Welbz and Wazza [Wayne Rooney] were two of our main goalscorers last season and they've not scored yet so, when everyone clicks, I'm sure we can go on a run."