Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has said that his side averted a "disaster" by beating local rivals Manchester City on Sunday.

Louis van Gaal's side breathed new life into their Champions League hopes with a 1-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium, closing the gap on fourth-placed City to just one point.

However, Carrick insists that it will only prove to be an important win if they back it up after the international break and begin to find the sort of consistency that they have lacked for much of the season.

"To get a result was great because it was a must-win for the league and if we had lost then it would have been a disaster in terms of going into the international break and coming back after that a long way off [fourth]," he told reporters.

"All in all it was a great day and hopefully this can turn things around for us. It's a massive boost but it's only a big boost and worth it if we carry it on when we get back. We need to go on a good run now, everyone is the same. It's at that stage of the season where everything seems to count for a lot more - every point, every win.

"It's football, sometimes it's tough to explain. It has been a funny season. It has been frustrating because we know we have got performances in us, and you can see that against the so called bigger teams, but it's not enough. Consistency is the key to winning the league and doing well in it. You need to be consistent so that's what we need to get better it."

United will take on Everton at Old Trafford in their first game back after the international break.