Schneiderlin Savours Win

Morgan Schneiderlin is urging his team-mates to build on Sunday's 'special' win at Anfield, where he experienced the atmosphere for the first time as a Manchester United player.

The French midfielder came on as a substitute when United beat Liverpool at Old Trafford in September but this time he played the full 90 minutes as Wayne Rooney’s late volley secured a memorable 1-0 victory.

Schneiderlin, who also visited Liverpool three times with Southampton, said the Reds were delighted to come away from Merseyside with a hard-fought win.

He told MUTV: “Anfield is always a nice atmosphere, especially in a derby match. We could feel it was a special moment and we are very happy to finish with the win today.

"It was the most important thing to give the win to our fans and the football club. Hopefully now we can carry on.”

Liverpool created more chances in the opening 45 minutes but Schneiderlin explained how his side improved in the second half to eventually claim a fourth successive win over the club's historic arch rivals.

“In the first half, we didn’t win enough second balls. Sometimes we won the first ball but not the second ball,” the Frenchman said.

"When we came into the dressing room after the first half, there was some screaming and shouting but of course that is normal because in a derby you cannot lose the battle.

“Liverpool are a very high pressing team and we knew if we kept a clean sheet we would have a chance to win the game.

“In the second half we did what we had to do. We scored one goal, stayed strong and, at the end, it is three points which is amazing.”

Schneiderlin also acknowledged the contribution of David De Gea, who kept United in the game with several excellent saves throughout.

“David is a very important player in our squad," said the midfielder. "We are very happy to have him and happy that he didn’t go last summer. He is fully committed to this football club.

“When you have a player like this in goal, it’s good for us because we know we are not going to concede many goals and he is going to make some saves. Well done to him.”

Rooney’s 12th goal of the season with 12 minutes remaining proved the difference against Liverpool on Sunday – and Schneiderlin stated the importance of the captain to United’s hopes of winning trophies.

He added: “Wayne is still the main figure at the club, he’s the one guy who has scored so many goals in his career and he will keep doing it. Sometimes you have spells where you don’t score but he has kept the smile on his face and trained hard.

“You saw his two goals against Newcastle were very good and today he scored another amazing goal. We need him in the second half of the season if we are to achieve something special.”

United's next match is against Schneiderlin's former club - Southampton visit Old Trafford this Saturday, 23 January, with kick-off at 15:00 GMT.