Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says their 2-1 win over Aston Villa to take them level on points with Premier League leaders Liverpool shows how much they've improved.

Bruno Fernandes scored the winner from the penalty spot as the Red Devils made it 10 games without defeat in the league, with eight of those games being victories.

Anthony Martial had fired United ahead in the first-half before Bertrand Traore grabbed a deserved squaliser for Villa in the second-half.

“Of course we’re very happy with the position we’ve found ourselves in,” Solskjaer said on Sky Sports after the game at Old Trafford.

“It’s such a big difference if you look 12 months back. You lose the chance to be there or thereabouts in the first 10 games, you can lose the chance to be in a title race.

“For us now, it’s a good position to be in but we need to improve, we need to get better. There’s going to be many tight games but if you can win games like tonight that’s going to make a big difference.”

Paul Pogba put in a man of the match performance and the United boss was pleased with the French midfielder's showing.

"Where Paul is getting fitter and stronger, you get performances like tonight," Solskjaer said. "He maybe took 25 minutes to get going, but once he got going, he made a difference for us.

"We're happy with his contribution. It's important we get Paul on the ball, whether it's low in the pitch or higher in between the lines.

"I know he started off wide while defending, but we wanted him to make runs in behind and get on the ball. His physical presence is important for us because we knew they are one of the strongest sides physically in the league.

"We needed players to match them and Paul showed his strength and skill for Anthony's goal. Tonight I was delighted with his performance."