Manchester United are full of confidence after making it five victories in a row against Sunderland, according to defender Daley Blind.

The Dutchman opened the scoring at Old Trafford six minutes before half-time and late goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped clinch a 3-1 victory for Jose Mourinho's side.

After a shaky spell in September and October, United have hit their stride under Mourinho and are unbeaten in the Premier League for two months.

The manager was unhappy with their first-half display but Blind's goal settled the nerves and United missed several golden chances to extend their lead prior to Ibrahimovic's strike in the 82nd minute.

That was overshadowed six minutes later by substitute Mkhitaryan's spectacular flick, a goal almost matched in quality by Fabio Borini's volleyed consolation for Sunderland.

United remain 13 points behind leaders Chelsea and have four to make up on Arsenal in fourth but Blind has no doubt they are heading in the right direction.

He told MUTV: "In the second half we had difficulty getting the ball but after that second goal it became a lot easier for us. Sunderland didn't create many chances and we created good chances. So I think we did well.

"In the end it was a difficult game, we played very good and got the result. We didn't have a clean sheet but it's a good result and I feel confident to move forward like this.

"We have a lot of confidence now and we're in good shape. We need to work hard and keep that feeling up and win games. Of course we want to keep this run going and we'll work hard to do that."

Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings David de Gea – 6 out of 10 Stood tall when his defence could’ve done a lot better early on and did well to deny Anichebe. Had little else to contend with until Borini’s consolation strike. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Antonio Valencia – 7 out of 10 A dynamic presence down the right-hand side throughout, but especially in the opening stages, when the rest of his team-mates were struggling to get going. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Phil Jones – 6 out of 10 Began shakily but increasingly grew into the game to maintain his impressive form since returning to the side. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Marcos Rojo - 6 out of 10 Nice marauding run to set off the move for Blind's opener, though the odd nervy moment at the back. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Daley Blind – 6 out of 10 A sluggish start, one poor header in particular should have been punished by Anichebe, but applied an excellent finish to open the scoring. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Michael Carrick – 6 out of 10 His usual, patient self in the middle of the park, though United could’ve done with a little more impetus from him at times. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Ander Herrera – 6 out of 10 Busy as ever and won his battle against his opposite number but, like Carrick, could have eased the burden on the attacking talents in front of him. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Paul Pogba – 8 out of 10 When things were not quite coming together, the midfielder kept creating chances out of nothing. The stand-out performer. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Juan Mata – 6 out of 10 Couldn’t seem to find a rhythm and only really showed his class in flashes. Ibrahimovic should’ve done better with one excellent through ball by the Spaniard. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Jesse Lingard – 5 out of 10 His most notable contributions were ill-tempered clashes with Kone and Denayer. Replaced by Mkhitaryan on the hour mark. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7 out of 10 Struggled to make an impact and wasteful for much of the afternoon, but left the pitch with a goal and two assists. Even when he's not at his best, he punishes teams. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 8 out of 10 Sublime, but offside, goal. Injected a threat in United's off-colour front line as soon as he was introduced. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Jordan Pickford - 7 out of 10 Equal to much of what United could throw at him. Brilliantly denying Ibrahimovic at one point with his boot. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Billy Jones - 6 out of 10 Shut down Lingard for much of the afternoon, but could perhaps have got a block in on Blind’s finish. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Papy Djilobodji - 5 out of 10 Let himself down with several basic errors, but is showing the potential to be a good Premier League-level defender. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Lamine Kone - 5 out of 10 Could have conceded a penalty for barging Mata but challenge was judged to be fair by Martin Atkinson, then could've seen red late on. Lucky boy. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Patrick van Aanholt - 5 out of 10 Tested De Gea with a free-kick early on. Not afforded the license to attack from full-back. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Jason Denayer - 7 out of 10 One of the visitors’ better performers, shackled United’s attacking talents well in the first half, but was let down by those around him. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Didier Ndong - 5 out of 10 Bullied by Herrera at times and too often failed to do the same to United’s attacking midfielders. His mistake allowed Ibrahimovic in for the second. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Fabio Borini - 6 out of 10 Had the chance to open the scoring after Anichebe’s chance, but mis-kicked the rebound. Fantastic consolation goal, at least. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Sebastian Larsson - 5 out of 10 Battled but lacked any invention. A disappointment, subbed late on for Khazri. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Victor Anichebe - 7 out of 10 Should’ve put his side in front in the first-half but was denied by De Gea, but was not undeterred by his miss. Caused problems for United’s backline throughout. Manchester United vs Sunderland player ratings Jermain Defoe - 5 out of 10 With Anichebe chipping in defensively, he was left isolated for large parts and only showed what he could do in brief moments.

Blind, brought into the side at the expense of Matteo Darmian, was an unlikely source for the opening goal but he timed his run into the area perfectly to meet Ibrahimovic's lay-off and find the far corner.

It was the full-back's first goal in 11 months and his first in the Premier League since September 2015.

Blind said: "There was so much space to run into and Zlatan gave me the ball, which was one touch and then a finish. It was a good feeling to score it and it was important to score before half-time."

Blind's tidy first-half finish broke the deadlock (Getty)

The result meant Sunderland remain in the relegation zone, two points from safety, ahead of a crunch game against Burnley on Saturday.

The biggest disappointment for the Black Cats was that individual mistakes from Didier N'Dong and Jason Denayer led to United's second and third goals, killing the game when it had looked like Sunderland might find an equaliser.

Defender Billy Jones told safc.com: "Going in at half-time 1-0 down was disappointing. We talked about if we can keep it at that and stay in the game we've got a chance, and we also talked before the game about not giving Manchester United any easy goals.

"We feel like the second and third goals, that's what they were, with a couple of bad passes in the middle of the park to set them on their way.

Billy Jones felt the scoreline was harsh on Sunderland (Getty)

"It's just disappointing that we've done well again against one of the big teams and haven't got anything to show for it. It makes the game against Burnley even more important now.

"We've got to show all the positives from this game and be more clinical when we have our chances, and obviously keep it tight at the back as well."