Louis van Gaal has challenged Manchester United to prove they are genuine title contenders by beating their bitter local rivals City next weekend.
United bounced back from their humbling 3-0 defeat to Arsenal by beating Everton by the same scoreline on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney scored his first goal at Goodison Park for eight years after Morgan Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera had given Van Gaal's team a two-goal cushion.
United will move to the top of the Barclays Premier League if Arsenal drop points against Everton and United beat leaders City in the derby at Old Trafford.
Van Gaal believes victory over City would silence the doubters who claim his side are not capable of topping the table come May.
'I am very happy with the response of my players and I am very proud of the performance,' the United manager said.
'I think it was an excellent performance and maybe it is the start of many, many victories.
'We have to be more consistent, so next week when we win against Manchester City then we can say, 'OK, now we think maybe about title aspirations'.'
The news of Howard Kendall's death cast a dark cloud over Goodison and the subdued atmosphere allowed United to start comfortably.
Eighteen minutes had passed when Schneiderlin steered the ball into the far corner after being left unmarked at a corner.
More sloppy marking allowed Herrera to nod in Marcos Rojo's deep cross four minutes later and after the break Rooney sealed the win, shooting past Tim Howard at his near post after beating the offside trip.
(dailymail.co.uk)
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