Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: Man United Need '1, 2, 3 Players' to Be Title Challengers

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his team are still several signings away from becoming Premier League title challengers after they beat Manchester City 2-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Following the Red Devils' 2-1 win over City at the Etihad Stadium in December, Sunday's victory marked the first time since the 2009-10 season at United have beaten their local rivals home and away in the same campaign.

Per ESPN FC's Rob Dawson, Solskjaer said:

"We feel we are improving all the time. We know we lack one, two, three players to be considered a title contender and some experience and we know that.

"We are just going to start talking about going up the table, getting more points.

"Chelsea and Leicester are too far ahead for my liking."

Anthony Martial gave United the lead after half an hour when he volleyed Bruno Fernandes' scooped free-kick past Ederson at his near post.

Scott McTominay wrapped up the victory deep into injury time with a 40-yard strike into an open goal after a poor throw from Ederson:

Although the Red Devils benefited from poor goalkeeping from the Brazilian for their goals, Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News hailed their all-around performance in the contest:

In all competitions, it is the third time United have beaten City this season in four meetings.

The match continued Fernandes' fine start to life at Old Trafford since he joined from Sporting CP in January. In seven starts for his new side, he has returned three goals and three assists in all competitions.

He has played a large part in the Red Devils' impressive recent form:

As well as their three wins against City, United have also beaten Chelsea three times in all competitions, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City in their only meetings and were the only side to avoid defeat to Liverpool in the Reds' first 27 league games of the season.

They haven't been able to produce such performances consistently, though. They have yet to win three league matches in a row this season and have won just 12 of their 29 games.

Fernandes' arrival has given the team a significant lift, but they still need more attacking firepower after letting Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez leave for Inter Milan last summer.

Alexis will return at the end of the season because he is only on loan, but the Chilean hasn't done much to suggest he's back at the level he reached at Arsenal, for whom he racked up 80 goals and 45 assists in 166 appearances.

He's missed a significant portion of the season through injury. In the 15 appearances he has made, of which seven have been starts, he has scored once and provided three assists.

Another midfielder is also needed after Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini left in 2019 without being replaced, particularly with Paul Pogba's future up in the air.

The Frenchman, who has played just eight times this season because of injury, will have just one year left on his contract this summer, though the club does have an option to extend the deal by a further year. As such, the Red Devils may need to sell him to recoup the £89 million they spent on him in 2016.