Manchester United defender Phil Jones hailed their performance in victory over Sunderland.

The Reds' performance in the first 45 minutes was scintillating and yet the 2-0 half-time scoreline didn't quite reflect United's dominance. However, the three points were all but wrapped up after an hour's play, despite Sunderland keeping David De Gea busy in the final 20 minutes.

"We're in a great position in the league now and hopefully we can stay there and maintain our good form," he told MUTV.

"We probably should have scored more than three today. We created numerous chances which we should have put away and on another day we could have scored six or seven. But as long as we score a few more than the opposition then that will do us. Some of our football was brilliant - we popped it around really well with some nice one-touch passing and we created a lot of chances."

The Reds remain six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league and Jones is looking forward to helping the team maintain that advantage over a busy Christmas spell.

"I'm just happy to be back playing and hopefully I can force my way back into the team," Jones added. "There are a lot of games coming up. The Christmas period is never an easy one, but we've got a great squad and hopefully we can keep everyone fit."