Manchester United winger Ashley Young has praised the attitude that his side displayed during their 3-2 win over rivals Manchester City yesterday afternoon.

Wayne Rooney put visiting United 2-0 up at the Etihad Stadium, only for goals from Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta to level up the contest in the second half.

However, a deflected free kick from Robin van Persie in stoppage time secured the points for United, who opened up a six-point gap at the top of the Premier League table in the process.

"Obviously, we wanted to set our stall out as we knew it was never going to be easy coming to a place like this," he told MUTV. "But the way we went 2-0 up was a great feeling for us and everyone was delighted.

"We knew they were going to come out in the second half and conceding two goals is disappointing but, as a team, we have got a never-say-die attitude. We always know there is going to be another chance and, with Robin scoring it, you look at the celebrations and see how much it meant - not just to the players but the staff as well."

Young joined the Red Devils from Aston Villa during the summer of 2011.