Under-pressure Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal enjoyed a rare highlight after weeks of gloom when his side comfortably beat Derby County 3-1 to reach the FA Cup fifth round.

Goals from Wayne Rooney, Daley Blind and Juan Mata put the 11-times Cup winners through, with second-tier Derby only briefly threatening a shock when George Thorne equalised shortly before the break at a noisy Pride Park.

Dutchman Van Gaal has been under mounting pressure after a recent poor run of form and shortage of entertainment, but United were good value for their fourth-round win.

Rooney put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort after 16 minutes and United, cheered on by 5,000 visiting fans, should have been further in front before Thorne's expertly-taken equaliser with Derby's first meaningful attack.

Blind restored United's lead after 65 minutes with a sharp finish before Mata sealed the win late on.

The rest of the fourth round matches are scheduled for the weekend with holders Arsenal hosting second-tier Burnley tomorrow.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.