Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Louis Van Gaal, Manuel Pellegrini Quotes

Louis van Gaal's dreams came to fruition on Saturday after his Red Devils emerged with a 4-2 victory in the Manchester derby, sealing their first home win over Manchester City since 2011.      

United's conquering triumph also gives Van Gaal his first derby win over the Citizens since arriving at Old Trafford last summer. The Dutchman made sure to praise the home fans for their support, per BBC Sport:

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It's three points! We are four points ahead of fourth in the table and I am very happy for the fans. I have seen what it means for them. They always support us when the results were not good. We are now four points ahead of City in third place which is very important because it gets you automatic qualification into the Champions League. [...]

We are making steps in our process and it's too early to expect it (the perfect performance). The goal we set was to get into the first four and I'll be very pleased if we reach that goal. I said it would not be easy and we still have six matches to play. It is not done yet but we are on our way.

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On the other hand, Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini must accept the derby defeat as his latest disappointment, painting a sorrowful figure in the wake of their defeat:

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It is very difficult to be in fourth place. We have difficult teams in the Premier League. We have just four points behind United, five points with Arsenal.

We must fight until the end of the season. For the club, for me, for the players it is very important to be in a position for the Champions League. We have six games more to try to do it. We had been in second place all season. We have six games to go.

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Van Gaal undoubtedly shares the sentiment as most Manchester United fans after insisting the club would be far better off had they been able to show this kind of form earlier in the campaign.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live (h/t BBC Sport), the former Netherlands chief stated as much, but now sees his side as being one of the best in the English top flight.

"Of course I think maybe we could have started this form earlier but the last 20 matches we've been good and better than most of the Premier League," he said.

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Manchester United finished the encounter with only 10 men after Michael Carrick came off with just two minutes left and no substitutes remaining.

That one-man advantage allowed Sergio Aguero to score his second goal of the match and his 100th for Manchester City, leaving Van Gaal somewhat red-faced in the process:

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It's the best atmosphere I have seen here. A fantastic result. I must bring Michael Carrick off the pitch with an injury which was a bit stupid from me as some players didn't know we only had 10 men. That was not so smart!

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Having started the season in such disappointing fashion, United have succeeded in turning their campaign around. Their manager put that down to an incredible sense of spirit among his players, per the club's official Twitter account:

The Red Devils conceded early on, but struck back straight away before coming to dictate the game's tempo and assemble their 4-1 lead. Van Gaal acknowledged the second half as being far superior to their performance in the first period.

"We started very badly. It was not Manchester United, we were very nervous. I don't know why," he said. "We had no pressure on the ball. I don't know why. But when we scored the goal, from that moment we had more confidence. The second half was much better."

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Slipping four points off their local rivals and with their top-four status even now in some shade of doubt, the 4-2 loss was a damaging one for City, and Pellegrini's position may now be in danger.

Forced to concede his visitors were the inferior outfit, the Chilean was left scratching his head as to why City dropped off the pace after the opening exchanges, per BBC Sport:

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I think they were the best team. We started very well and in the first 20 minutes we could have controlled the game. After the second goal we lost the way we were playing and United scored more goals.

I don't understand why a team only plays so well in the first 20 minutes. We dominated, created chances, we had the ball. At 1-1 United started growing and their third goal gave them the confidence they did not have before. It is not just one problem, the same team played well for 20 minutes. Maybe it's a lack of class at this moment. I don't know.

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Although Chelsea sit seven points clear at the summit and would appear the outright title favourites, United's re-emergence has once again displayed what fierce competition there is for the Premier League's top spots.

In displays such as this, it's difficult for any manager to pick out any one star, but Van Gaal did make sure to take note of Ashley Young's display after the midfielder grabbed United's initial equaliser:

For some, United may simply be playing catch-up as they look to reduce the deficit separating them from Arsenal and Chelsea, but the season isn't over just yet.

In any case, the Red Devils have improved wildly to show some extreme signs of promise in preparation for next season, with Van Gaal laying down a landmark victory in Sunday's Manchester derby.