Jose Mourinho could not speak highly enough of his Manchester United players on Sunday.

The Red Devils defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 at the Riverside Stadium to move into fifth position on the Premier League table.

The victory came after a hard-fought win over Russian club Rostov in the Europa League on Thursday and Mourinho was absolutely delighted with the performance after freshening up his starting XI.

"The attitude, the desire and our way of thinking [was great]," he told MUTV and BT Sports.

"We did not have A, B, C, D, E, F or G, but we have L, M, N, O, P and these guys gave absolutely everything.

"I think we started the game really well."

The victory on Teesside caps a significant week for United which saw them advance to the Europa League quarter-finals while moving up one spot closer to their target of a top-four finish.

"It is fantastic because we managed in the same week to go to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, which is an important competition for us, and at the same time we got these three points that keep us in the race for the fourth position," he added.

"So we still have two doors open to play Champions League football next season and that is a good thing of the week."