And with 11 minutes remaining he chose just right as Michael Carrick’s excellent ball reached him on the right side of the box and he volleyed across goal for Rooney to nod in.
Advertisement
The Frenchman took to Instagram after the victory and said: “Bad match for me tonight but good win”.
Van Gaal has spoken many times since arriving at Old Trafford about his “philosophy”, about a “process”.
Asked if he had heard the crowd’s reaction, the Dutchman said: “Of course, I am not deaf”. Afterwards they shall not be disappointed by the decision of the manager. Wayne Rooney is of no exception to this rule. “Also, in the group, we are now at the top and we have to win the next match against Eindhoven, but the situation is much better now”, the German global added.
United scored a later victor in a bullet header from Wayne Rooney, but that was a minute after CSKA striker Seydou Doumbia was through one-on-one with De Gea, but the United goalkeeper saved it, and from the rebound Chris Smalling blocked the follow up shot on the line.
The Red Devils went top of Group B in the Champions League after the Englishman headed a late victor at Old Trafford. Also, in the golden years of Manchester United I have read they never won against a Russian team at home. If they had scored then I would be sitting here very differently.
Advertisement
Last week’s withering put-down from Van Gaal, who questioned whether Scholes was speaking for the benefit of United or himself, evidently had little effect as the pundit claimed Sergio Agüero would struggle to score in this team. “He’s getting nothing from midfield, there’s no wide players, he’s getting no service whatsoever”. It remains to be seen if Van Gaal is prepared to try and blend his philosophy with United’s attacking principles. I watched him for the first 20 minutes of the Manchester derby, he’s moving, he’s looking really sharp and the ball is just not coming to him. “I think it’s the best I’ve seen of Manchester United as an attacking force. I want to see that but it’s not happened”, said Scholes on BT Sport.
