Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has hailed the fighting spirit of the United squad following the crucial 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday.

The 26-year-old claims that his teammates put their bodies on the line to achieve the crucial victory, which puts them just a point behind fourth-placed City in the league table.

Smalling told MUTV: "We dug in and got the result we needed.

"I think everyone put their bodies on the line; they had a lot of corners and there were a lot of last-ditch tackles. I think you could see that the players were really working for the cause.

"I think we controlled the game for large parts and the first-half performance was very good as well.

"They didn't have many clear-cut chances, there was [Sergio] Aguero's right at the end, but other than that I think we controlled it very well.

"We made them play in front of us and they couldn't come up with the answers."