Watford striker Troy Deeney scored a 90th-minute own goal, soon after converting an equalizing penalty, to gift Manchester United a 2-1 win in the English Premier League on Saturday.
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United are now in the midst of an injury crisis, especially in forward positions, with players including Rooney, Martial, Marouane Fellaini all missing on Saturday – forcing Van Gaal to include youth team teenager Marcus Rashford into the squad.
Herrera appeared to go off with a hamstring injury when he was replaced in the first-half against Watford and Jones suffered a foot injury.
After weeks of criticism Memphis will finally earn some praise after an impressive performance, which earned him the official man of the match award.
United may not have the depth or the quality for a sustained title challenge this season but, in Schweinsteiger, there is a player who is the embodiment of Manchester United.
“It would be nice if it was my goal but I know that the Watford player touched the ball so, for me, it doesn’t matter”.
But Van Gaal is now preaching cautious words about the defender’s return date.
Deeney was then unable to direct his shot away from De Gea after Ighalo had a made a nuisance in the area, with Quique Sanchez Flores’s side taking a more direct approach.
Rooney hopes to have recovered from the bug that kept him out of the win at Watford while Mata and Martial have the best chance of recovering in time to figure in the Group B game.
But mindful that seeing United play against PSV could stoke some bad memories, Van Gaal has given Shaw a few days off from his rehabilitation which, the Dutchman admits, is proving to be a frustrating process for the England worldwide. I think also the first half he played a very good game.
“When you can do that as a team then I am very proud that I am the manager”.
“In the second half we played in the way we played in the other 12 games”.
“Whichever of the three of us is selected to play, I think we all know the distances that we need to cover and I feel that’s crucial, especially where you can’t have any gaps in the back nine”.
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Smalling has played a key role in United’s strong start to the campaign, having started in every fixture, and the 25-year-old centre-back believes an understanding among the players has been built under Van Gaal’s guidance.
