“I stick with my decision and they needed rest, you see the players, they also need rest but I can not give everybody rest so that’s the problem”.
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United have failed to challenge for the league since the departure of Alex Ferguson in 2013 and have endured disappointments after disappointments under Van Gaal since he took over from David Moyes in 2014.
Manchester United will assess injuries to Anthony Martial and Matteo Darmian on Sunday, amid fears they could be doubts for the FA Cup Final in two weeks time.
Van Gaal’s failure to return United to the top of the English game has garnered vast criticism, with reports mounting that Jose Mourinho has already been lined up as his replacement in the summer.
Jose Mourinho has been linked with the United job nearly as soon as he parted company with Chelsea in December, with Van Gaal’s tiresome style of football angering many United supporters.
Manchester United have kept more clean sheets than any other Premier League team this season (18).
Mata struck in the 72nd minute after a missed header by Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong cleared the way for a run into the box by United’s Wayne Rooney.
The Dutchman continued: “I wouldn’t have rested him for the match [if there wasn’t another one on 10 May], but now we only have two days’ recuperation and recovery”.
“We are still in business, that is what I told the players”, van Gaal told BT Sport. The United has a lot of work to do to get into the Champions League qualification spots, but it is still doable as third place Arsenal play at fourth place Manchester City.
According to The Telegraph, the striker will be monitored this week with the hope he can feature against Bournemouth on the last day of the season.
“I’m more or less a Gunners fan tomorrow, but it will be a tough game between these kinds of teams”, the 64-year-old said.
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It would condemn City to the Europa League for the first season of Pep Guardiola’s reign, as he the two-time Champions League victor takes over from Pellegrini. We gift them a goal by a lapse in concentration and to be a team at this level and compete you have to limit those mistakes across the course of a season.
