Louis van Gaal: Man Utd can still win the title

United have beaten Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in their last two games, producing their best form of the season to consolidate fourth place in the table, five points ahead of the chasing pack.

They host Aston Villa on Saturday and, with matches against the top three sides to come before the end of the season, United cannot afford to drop points against a side who are 16th in the table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

"The top four is still a rat race," Van Gaal told a news conference.

"I said when we had 13 points from 11 games and we were getting a lot of criticism that we would see at the end of the season. We will still see at the end of the season. We still have the top three to play.

"A lot can happen. Still we can win the title, mathematically. We can do that."

Jose Mourinho: "It's four now [in the title race]. You see the points difference and you have to say four. Not four as there's a gap between four to five. The points difference between second, third and fourth make me think they're there. The number of points are the number of points.

"They [Manchester United] are there. The points are there. In the last matches they became consistent in results and also the quality of their performances. They are there."