Nemanja Matic insists Manchester United's win over Burnley proves they are ready to "compete" for the Premier League title.
The Red Devils saw off the Clarets at Turf Moor courtesy of a deflected Paul Pogba strike in the second-half.
It sends them three points clear at the summit following an excellent run of form.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has watched his side win nine of their last 11 league games following a poor start to the campaign.
But Matic has cited a new found maturity as a major plus in recent months.
"I think that these sort of wins show that we are ready to compete for the title," he told Premier League Productions.
"Sometimes we have looked like a team who wants to score as soon as possible, then we get panicked.
"But I think today we showed more maturity, we showed we are more clever. And on this pitch, at this stadium against Burnley is always hard to win the games, not to concede a goal from long balls and set-pieces.
"We prepared the game well and I think we deserved these three points."
It is the first time United have sat top of the table in January since their last title success under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
They will have a chance to underline their credentials later this week when they travel to Liverpool.
It currently looks to be a three horse race for the title with Manchester City also looming.
Matic though is confident that United will head to Anfield with no fear.
He added: "Let’s see on Sunday against Liverpool. It’s the biggest derby in England and we go there to compete with them, to see where we are, one of the best teams in the league so I think that we are ready."
