Wayne Rooney: 'Three points were the most important thing'

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has insisted that his side's victory over Sunderland was more important than the brace that he bagged in the contest at Old Trafford.

In what appeared to be a rather laboured performance from United, England captain Rooney notched a penalty and a neat finish in the second half to hand Louis van Gaal's side three points at home.

"It's great to score but the three points are the most important thing after last week. We deserved the three points," said Rooney, according to BBC Sport.

"We knew Sunderland would be dogged. They defended well, but we were patient. It was a good performance. We had a bit more space with the 10 men but we should have been ahead before that.

"I think there are a lot of teams in a good run of form and there's not much difference between the top teams. We hope that, come the end of the season, we're in the right position."

The win sees United move into third spot in the Premier League table.