“So I’m very happy with our defensive organisation and very happy with the way we attacked because in the end we won a hard game against a hard team”.
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Van Gaal was addressing the media after United’s 1-0 win over their Moscow-based opponents.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal said that CSKA Moscow played very organized and it was hard to get through their defense.
United host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday before the next global break. “I’m not deaf. That’s the opinion of the fans but afterwards they shall not be disappointed”, said the Dutch manager.
“Then it’s better to whistle the manager, I can cope with it. I have a lot of experience”.
Fletcher is particularly popular among United supporters and van Gaal is also an admirer, having made the Scotland worldwide his vice-captain in the summer of 2013 before respectfully allowing him to leave the club in January 2014 due to a lack of playing time in the first half of the season.
But as chance after chance fell by the wayside, the atmosphere became even more tense.
“Van Gaal defended United’s performance against CSKA, explaining: “‘I think we have attacked for 85 minutes of the 90 minutes, so we have given a lot of entertainment and it’s dependable on the goals.
“Obviously I had to be direct at the right time, so we had to be patient sometimes. If two teams attack it is easier”. After 11 games, they’ve managed 11 fewer goals than top scorers Manchester City.
United will now qualify for the knockout stages of the competition if they beat PSV at home in three weeks.
Lingard will be hoping that Van Gaal’s praise translates into a starting spot tomorrow against West Brom at Old Trafford.
Rooney showed up and silenced the doubters at Old Trafford as he scored in the 79 minute to make it a 1-0 win for the Red Devils.
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Van Gaal will give a late test to Morgan Schneiderlin, who missed the match against CSKA through illness. The boss refused to rule the French midfielder out of the game but admitted that we’d have to “wait and see” whether he’d be ready to play.
