On Wednesday night it was stand-in skipper Juan Mata who threw Manchester United right back into the Champions League reckoning with a dazzling late free-kick to down Watford, but just four days on the hero became a villain as his first ever red card led to a 1-0 defeat at West Brom.
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Mata picked up two bookings in less than three first-half minutes and Albion capitalised after the break, with Salomon Rondon capping an impressive display with a fine strike that secured Tony Pulis’ men a 1-0 win.
Venezuela striker Rondon proved the matchwinner in the 66th minute as he controlled a cross from substitute Sebastien Pocognoli before lashing low past goalkeeper David de Gea as West Brom recorded their first home league win over United for 32 years.
With United now three points adrift of the top four, having played a game more than fourth-placed Manchester City, Van Gaal admitted that they could need to win all nine of their remaining fixtures in order to seal Champions League qualification.
“I had two maiden speeches with them, two conversations, first with Ed [Woodward, executive vice-chairman] and later with the owners”, Van Gaal said.
“You give as a referee in five minutes two yellow cards to the same person, and you also know it is Juan Mata”. “A referee has to decide within one second but when you know the player, Mata never hurts a player”.
“When you see at the end the chances that West Bromwich Albion have created in comparison with us, it was an unnecessary loss”. It’s always very hard for a team to play against 11.
“What can I say when you send off a player like Mata?”
His first yellow card came for encroachment at Darren Fletcher’s free kick, with the second following soon afterwards for a foul on the same player.
Palace manager Alan Pardew, whose side are without a league win in 2016, criticised referee Andre Marriner’s decision to award Benteke a penalty.
He said he wanted United to “keep believing in ourselves to achieve the goals that are still in our minds from now until the end of the season”.
He told Sky Sports: ‘[The top four] is not out of sight. I take responsibility in the good and the bad moments, as I’ve always done and I will always do.
“Let’s get 40 points, I think that’s definitely safe”. From then onwards both teams played most of the match in midfield and neither was able to have a real threat on opponent’s goal.
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“It’s a tough game here anyway, and losing a man like we did makes it even more hard”. “As you can imagine, it’s not easy for me to write these lines”.
