Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal thinks Manchester City are being dragged in to a "rat race" for the top four Premier League spots.

When asked whether City had been dragged into the "rat race" - a term van Gaal uses to describe the fight for the top four - the United boss said: "Of course, because Arsenal is one point behind and we are two points behind.

"Whether they want that or don't want that, that is the position," said van Gaal after United's 3-0 win over Spurs. "It is a rat race. They are in it. It is good for us and the fans and the media because you can write a lot of things down," he said.

United scored all three of their goals in the first half, starting with Marouane Fellani's low finish in the ninth minute, followed by Michael Carrick's header, and Wayne Rooney all but sealed the win by taking advantage of a mistake by Nabil Bentaleb.

"We are looking step by step and our next game is at Liverpool. I believe it is not so often that United have won at Anfield recently," said van Gaal.