“It will be very hard now because we give five points away, Chelsea and now”, he said.
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Sunderland’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United was not only deserved, but could have been even more comfortable.
And the manager was resigned to admit the result leaves their top four hopes in the balance. “I think after this match that is the best route but it is not easy because a lot of good teams are in this event”.
The Dutchman has now admitted making the top four will be tough and with just 12 league games left for the Red Devils to play, time is running out.
“But you will always be compared to your opponents in aggression, and their hunger and aggression was higher than ours”.
“So we still focus on getting more clean sheets but we’re looking defensively better as a unit”.
“We needed the points so much, everybody is very sad”, van Gaal told the British media on Saturday.
Willian completed a counterattack after being set up by Costa in the 17th, Pedro netted again in the 59th and Bertrand Traore became the first player from Burkina Faso to score in the Premier League in the 83rd.
Anthony Martial grabbed the equaliser six minutes before halftime, the young French striker dinking the ball in from a tight angle after Sunderland keeper Vito Mannone had saved Juan Mata’s firm shot.
“But we didn’t have control, what you’ve said is the truth”.
“We’ve got a lot of injuries and we’ve got another one with Kirchhoff going off after 20 minutes or so”.
Asked if the club’s presence in Europe’s elite competition was the bare minimum, he said: “Yes – but that’s also our aim, so you can not close your eyes from that”.
“He could have won it for us, or certainly scored for us, he was one-on-one after a great ball from Catts [Lee Cattermole]”.
Defeat was doubly frustrating for United as with fourth-place Manchester City hosting Tottenham Hotspur and leaders Leicester City visiting third-place Arsenal on Sunday, they had a chance to make ground on the top four.
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“Our new players have made a massive contribution since they’ve been here but no more so than today with Wahbi’s goal off the free-kick and then his corner for Lamine’s victor”.
