Louis van Gaal and Ashley Young prasied the performance of substitute Adnan Januzaj after the Belgian winger helped Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over Sunderland.
Having replaced Angel Di Maria at the break and witnessed Wayne Rooney open the scoring from the spot, Januzaj assisted the skipper’s second by forcing Costel Pantilimon into a save from his low strike before the ball was nodded in.
While Rooney was named Man of the Match with 51 per cent of fan votes, the positivity of Januzaj (who received 25 per cent himself, just ahead of Ashley Young) in attack that really made a difference.
Van Gaal was visibly delighted with the 20-year-old's impact at full time, and he later told MUTV: "I was very happy that he registered an assist for the first time, it’s something I like to see from every player."
Young, meanwhile, felt Januzaj met the requirements of his manager in exemplary fashion, contributing to the Reds' improved second-half display at Old Trafford.
United’s No.18 said of his fellow wide-man: “He was terrific. As a winger, you want to get the ball and run at your full-back. He did exactly that, did exactly what the boss asked him to do at half-time. It was a great performance by him but it was a team performance and everyone in the team, everyone that came on, was fantastic."
