Earlier, Rooney – who made his name playing for Liverpool’s city rivals Everton – marked his latest return to Merseyside by scoring the only goal of the game at Anfield.
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Wayne Rooney has now scored in four successive games for United for the first time since March 2012, the Englishman’s 176 goals for Manchester United has overtaken Arsenal’s Thierry Henry (175) as the scorer of the most goals for a single club in Premier League history.
However, Van Gaal – while praising the standards of his goalkeeper – does not feel that De Gea pulled off anything out of the ordinary and says he would expect the Spain keeper to make the saves he did.
In the Mirror, they’ve pointed out that for all his faults, Louis van Gaal at least knows how to beat Liverpool.
“I think the smallest of our problems was our centre-forward”, he said.
“We have a lot of matches still to go”, said the Dutchman.
“It is a fantastic win for the fans, for me and the players and it will give us a boost, and maybe in that perspective you are right”.
His header hit the bar, but Rooney was quickest to react, lashing the ball in in with the surrounding Liverpool players sluggish.
“A striker who scores is always very important”, Van Gaal said. “Everyone wants to see Rooney scoring”.
However, captain Wayne Rooney eventually scored for United in the second half to seal a 1-0 victory.
They kicked off lying in ninth and sixth place in the standings, respectively, and the first half showed just why.
Summing up his team’s display, Klopp said: “I didn’t see too many chances for Manchester United and we didn’t take ours”.
“The performance and a lot of things we did today were really good”.
“I hope we can continue winning – that’s why we are here”.
Both teams had taken part in thrilling 3-3 draws in midweek, but this clash looked set to be scoreless until Rooney popped up to volley home his 78th minute victor.
The Reds manager was willing to admit to his disappointment that Liverpool had lost a game due to their failings in front of goal.
In between those chances, Anthony Martial finally got in behind Liverpool’s defence and flashed a left-foot shot just past the far post – United’s first genuine effort.
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Liverpool host League two outfit Exeter City in an FA Cup third round replay on Wednesday, before travelling to Carrow Road to face Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday.
