louis van gaal couldn’t let the moment pass manchester united had just rattled off their 13th home win of the season and the dutchman wanted to crank up the pressure a comfortable victory over aston villa, inspired by two goals from the excellent ander herrera and crowned by wayne rooney’s magnificent strike, had seen united leap above manchester city in the table for the first time since november 23, 2013 when you think on january 10 this year the gap between the two clubs was 10 points, the turnaround has been remarkable but now, as they head into their latest local squabble, there is mounting confidence around old trafford that united will not surrender their position louis van gaal has piled pressure on manchester city ahead of their games against crystal palace and united  manchester united picked up all three points at the weekend by beating aston villa 3 1 at old trafford  van gaal believes manchester city's players may struggle to get to grips with being in fourth spot  manchester united (4 3 3): de gea 6; valencia 7, jones 7, rojo 7, blind 7: herrera 85, carrick 7, fellaini 65 (falcao 77mins): mata 75, rooney 8, young 65 (di maria 70 65) subs not used: valdes, rafael, januzaj, mcnair, pereira  scorers: herrera 43, 90, rooney 79  aston villa (4 4 2): guzan 7: hutton 55 (bacuna 46, 5), okore 55, clark 55, lowton 5: n’zogbia 5 (baker 61, 5) , sanchez 6, delph 6, weimann 5 (cole 77): benteke 65, agbonlahor 5  subs not used: given, vlaar, gil, grealish  booked: delph  scorer: benteke 80  man of the match: ander herrera  referee: roger east 6  is it feasible for city to finish fourth? they face crystal palace on monday evening and van gaal believes dropping down two positions will creep into the psychology of manuel pellegrini’s squad even if city win at selhurst park, how will they handle the furnace that awaits this sunday? ‘it plays a part in the spirit of the players — of our opponents but also our players,’ said van gaal ‘we have more confidence now and when (if) they lose a point against crystal palace, then it is also sitting in their minds ‘i don’t know the individual players of manchester city so well, so i cannot judge them but we have a lot of confidence and we haven’t lost so many times at home the next game is going to be the decisive game’ van gaal is aware recent history spells doom for united they have lost seven of the last nine manchester derbies, including each of the last four remarkably, they have not beaten city at home since rooney scored that breath taking bicycle kick in february 2011 city, few would dispute, have the better squad but, regardless of what happens in south london, will they be able to hold united’s momentum? can they match their spirit? big games are bringing the best out of van gaal’s men and they are clearly relishing the opportunity that awaits manchester united have not beaten city at old trafford since wayne rooney's wonder goal in february 2011  manchester city striker sergio aguero scored in his side's 1 0 win over united back in november  rooney likes playing against villa — this was his 13th career goal against them newcastle (12) are his second favourite opponents man united lead rivals man city by one point  ‘it was another manchester united, i believe,’ said van gaal, when asked how he reflected on the 1 0 defeat he suffered at the etihad stadium in november ‘we have developed the team that was more in the start of the process and now we are in the end of the process ‘so i think also the confidence of our players is very high at the moment but also our performances shows that so it’s not the same manchester united it’s like the game against liverpool and the game (coming up) against chelsea — you have to win these kinds of matches’ with liverpool’s defeat by arsenal effectively ending the doubt over which sides will finish in the top four, it now becomes a question of what order chelsea, arsenal and the two manchester clubs will be after the final games have been played united’s run in is laced with demanding assignments — aside from city, they must go to stamford bridge on april 18, face a trip to goodison park the following week and host arsenal on may 16 — but they have an aura once more manchester united defender chris smalling saw red during the premier league clash at the etihad stadium  man united vs man city   april 12  chelsea vs man united   april 18  everton vs man united   april 26  man united vs west brom   may 2  crystal palace vs man united   may 9  man united vs arsenal   may 17  hull vs man united   may 24  crystal palace vs man city   april 6  man united vs man city   april 12  man city vs west ham   april 19  man city vs aston villa   april 25  tottenham vs man city   may 3  man city vs qpr   may 10  swansea vs man city   may 17  man city vs southampton   may 24  villa, stymied by injury problems that tim sherwood described as ‘crippling’, simply couldn’t cope once they went conceded in the 43rd minute and the manager, who was noticeably glum afterwards, can at least take solace from the fact queens park rangers will not offer the same threat on tuesday ‘we know it will be tough but as long as we can play the way we have shown, especially in the last few games, it’s going to be a great game,’ said ashley young, who admitted he was ‘disappointed’ to not be selected for the last round of england games ‘hopefully we will get the three points of course it would be nice but we are just taking each game as it comes’ there was never any hint they would slip up here, bossing the first half and then going through the gears after a slow period after the break to swat villa aside herrara, with his slick passing and industry, was terrific rooney’s 14th strike of the campaign, meanwhile, was sensational ‘it's about momentum, especially when you are going into this vital stage of the season,’ young added ‘united teams always come strong at this stage and we are showing in every game just how strong we can be – and even how we finish the game we will enjoy this but it is all about next week’ ashley young (left, pictured with herrera) believes his side are building momentum ahead of the derby 
louis van gaal man city aston villa manchester united aston villa 3 1 old trafford saturday the red devils manchester city third united city february 2011
louis van gaal cranked up the pressure on man city after aston villa win . manchester united defeated aston villa 3 1 at old trafford on saturday . the red devils leapfrogged manchester city to move up to third spot . united have not recorded a home win against city since february 2011 