(Manchester United News)
Louis van Gaal was delighted with how his Manchester United players found their form in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Goals in the first half from Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney gave the Reds a comfortable three points, and the manager was pleased with the response to Monday night's disappointing FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
“Maybe aside from the first five minutes, we had control over the match,” said van Gaal. “We scored beautiful goals, we didn’t give so much away, so we played very well. I have a very good feeling about the way we played. I’m very pleased with the performance but also with the result.”
“They (the players) showed in the training sessions their spirit, in spite of the defeat against Arsenal, which was a very important game for us - we wanted to win the FA Cup. We lost from ourselves, and the players knew that also.
"If you can show at the next training session the same spirit as before, then you are a fantastic professional and that’s why I said it in advance of the game. I have been a manager for 25 years and I have seen, with a lot of players, it’s not always the same after a defeat. I have the feeling the players want to play this system also. That is also a big advantage.”
On the Reds’ urgency today, he said: “After the first goal, then you raise your confidence and you can play a little bit quicker, but that is also because Tottenham want to play football. You need always two clubs to play football.”
When asked if this was Fellaini’s most influential game this season, the manager replied: “He had already played a lot of games in which he had a big influence. He has scored goals but he also has assists, and now we play also in that shape in the midfield, and that was good. I'm very happy for him. I think the midfield was controlling the game. I think [Ander] Herrera played a very good match but also [Juan] Mata played a very good match."
In addition, van Gaal felt Andreas Pereira's ability meant the young Belgium-born midfielder fully merited his Barclays Premier League debut. The boss told MUTV: “When you are 19 and already in the selection [squad] of Manchester United, then you must have a big talent otherwise you would not be in there. I am very happy that I could give him his Premier League debut.”
Finally, on what he sees as the “rat race” for the top four, the manager added: “We made a very big first step, but now we have to go to Liverpool which is also a competitor of ours.”
