Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted his side lost momentum after the first hour during their 3-1 victory over Sunderland.

The Scot praised his side's performance for the first 60 minutes, but noted that Sunderland could have at least pulled a goal back in the latter stages.

"For an hour we were fantastic. Some of our football was very good and we could have scored lots of goals," he told BBC Sport.

"But I don't know what happened after that because Sunderland could have had two or three towards the end, it could have been embarrassing. I don't know if we were relaxed or Sunderland picked up the baton 20 minutes from time."

Ferguson went on to express his delight at Nemanja Vidic's return from injury, describing the Serbian as "a warrior".

He added: "I'm delighted Vidic is a back. He's a warrior, a defender. It will take him time to get full match fitness but it is a start."

The result leaves United six points clear at the top of the Premier League table.