Rooney: Crucial goal

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Wayne Rooney was delighted after he scored the only goal to give Manchester United a vital 1-0 derby win over City.

The England striker put the Red Devils in front on 42 minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the 68th minute but the Blues could not capitalise.

The goal was Rooney's 100th club career goal but he was more concerned with helping his team earn a valuable win which takes them to within five points of leaders Chelsea with a game in hand.

He told the club's official website: "It was a massive win. Not necessarily because it was against Manchester City, but because three points are vital, especially with Chelsea and Liverpool playing after us.

"We simply had to win and I thought we produced a good performance."

He believed United held their own after Ronaldo had been sent off.

Defended well

"They put us under a little more pressure in the last 20 minutes but I thought we defended very well as a team and we could have even nicked another goal late in the game. Overall, we deserved the three points," he said.

Rooney also believed it was important for the Red Devils to have gone in at half-time in front.

"We were on top so it was important we got the first goal. We knew that 0-0 at half-time would have given City a lift and they would have put us under a bit more pressure in the second half."

While the striker reached an important milestone in the game, he played down its significance.

"To be honest, I didn't really think about [the fact it was my 100th goal]. I was more excited about scoring away at City. And for it to turn out to be the winning goal is very pleasing," he said.

"City took six points off us last season. The players, the fans and everyone at the club was hurt by that, so to pick up three points against them today was a very good result."