Jose Mourinho singled defender Victor Lindelof out for praise following Manchester United's 4-2 victory at Watford on Tuesday.
United moved to within five points of leaders Manchester City but had to hold off a Watford comeback that saw them recover from 3-0 down to trail only 3-2.
The points were secured in style as Jesse Lingard scored a fantastic solo effort after running at the Watford defence.
Lindelof, 23, has started United's last three Premier League games following a slow beginning to life at Old Trafford after his big-money move from Benfica in the summer.
He was named Man of the Match in the 1-0 win over Brighton last weekend and did well to keep Watford threats such as Andre Gray and Richarlison at bay for much of Tuesday's contest.
"I think Richarlison is a very good player and a difficult player to play against but Victor is very fast," Mourinho told MUTV.
"He has adapted to play centrally but also to go to the sides because he's got the agility that many of the central defenders don't have.
"I think it was another very positive performance by Victor."
Like Lindelof, Anthony Martial has established himself in the United side in recent weeks having been in and out of the team as he rotated with Marcus Rashford.
Mourinho was equally happy with the France international's contribution and believes there is still more to come from the former Monaco man.
"I am pleased," he said. "I think he suffers a little bit with accumulation of matches. I could feel that in the second half he was going down and down and down.
"He's still a young guy and his body, his biological situation has space to improve but in the first half, during the time, he had strength and explosion in his legs. He was dangerous and scored an important goal."