Chris Smalling, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard scored against Shrewsbury, though there was controversy about Mata’s free-kick that doubled their lead before half-time.
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“I think the performance was very good”, said Van Gaal. “I said that at half-time to my players”.
“It’s unbelievable”, Van Gaal told BT Sport of Keane’s injury.
You might assume that a relatively unknown team like Shrewsbury would be an easy match for United, but we have to remind you that just last week Louis Van Gaal’s side lost to Danish Superliga team FC Midtjylland in the Europa League.
Shrewsbury obviously come into the match with absolutely nothing to lose, and with a relegation fight on their hands in League One, with the side only three points off the last four places, Micky Mellon side will come into the game with the pressure lifted. Of course it’s easily spoken but done is different. “But it is possible and then we’ll see”, the United manager said.
“We played with 10 men and in the end with nine because Lingard was struggling so it was very heavy for the other players”.
“I think we played quicker, we played more forward, and we had more chances to score”.
Van Gaal seemed in good spirits after the win at Shrewsbury, though, and he stayed behind to sign autographs, replying jovially to a fan who wished him luck for the rest of the season, per Sky Sports: “We’ll need it, otherwise I’ll be sacked”.
“All those things can happen; however, we must get better with regard to the last few games and I’m sure that we will do it”.
The victory sets up an enticing FA Cup quarter-final against West Ham at Old Trafford, with a Wembley semi-final the prize for the winners of that tie.
“Mourinho is not going to build a club the way Alex Ferguson built a club, but he will perhaps get them back on track, get them back in the Champions League which for their balance sheet is a necessity”. It isn’t easy because we have to win a lot of games but it is still possible.
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Van Gaal claimed he’d stumbled across the routine while preparing his pre-match analysis of Midtjylland and had too assumed it was against the rules of the game.
