Boss Salutes Anderson

Anderson's recent upsurge in form has underlined his potential importance to United's future.

The Brazilian has been among the Reds' outstanding performers against Blackburn, West Ham and Valencia and, after he scored a vital equaliser against the Spaniards, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted the 22-year-old is showing his worth.

"He’s been absolutely brilliant, tremendous," the manager told MUTV. "He offers something different from the other midfield players we’ve got. He’s got tremendous pace and he can beat a man.

"He’s always decisive in his passing in terms of penetration. So he’s different from the other midfield players we’ve got, like Darren, Michael and Scholesy, who lies a bit deeper at his age."

Anderson's strike against Valencia was only his second for the club and his first at Old Trafford, and Sir Alex is keen for the midfielder to regularly contribute goals in the future.

"He should score more goals," he said. "He’s got the pace and power. He’s clever, he’s accurate with his passing, he should be accurate with his finishing and he’s taken his goal well tonight. I’m pleased. That’ll help him."