His histrionics sparked a rare chorus of “Louis van Gaal’s red and white army” from the home supporters, who have been swift to criticise his style this season, but the Old Trafford boss revealed he had apologised for the incident.
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Marcus Rashford is restoring pride at Old Trafford with his remarkable start to his Manchester United career, according to the 18-year-old’s experienced team-mate Juan Mata.
It prompted Van Gaal to compare Rashford with European greats Xavi, Thomas Muller and Patrick Kluivert in terms of immediate impact on a team managed by the Dutchman in his glittering career.
“We shall guide him in that way”. “In a collective psyche, you always think you need a saviour when you have a bad result”, he said.
“It was a shock to be playing in midweek, because Anthony Martial was meant to be starting, but that benefited me because I didn’t think about the game too much”.
Manchester United are looking to bag another three points against Watford in the Premier League on Wednesday night. I thank them for that.
Van Gaal said: “You never know if a player can cope with the rhythm of your team until you give him a chance”.
“There are still 11 games to go but, as things stand, I do not watch them and see a team that has what it takes to win the title”.
“The player who was surprising for me talent-wise was Rashford because of the timing of his movement and his intelligence”, he said.
At that time, Van Gaal was furious that Milan midfielder Marcel Desailly had escaped unpunished after a head-high tackle on Ajax striker Jari Litmanen.
United bid for a fourth straight win against Watford, and Van Gaal is keen to keep his emotions in check after demonstrating a dive before fourth official Mike Dean near his technical area on Sunday.
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“Martial and (Chris) Smalling and (Matteo) Darmian are coming back, maybe tomorrow”. But I don’t feel sorry for it, because it’s me. That’s what we want, to fight together until the last game of the season and not give up when you have a bad game or a bad result. “As an Arsenal fan, I’m thinking, ‘Can you show me you can be champions?’ – and today they didn’t reassure me on anything”.
