Louis van Gaal should not be happy with Manchester United draw
Red Devils draw against West Ham at Old Trafford to force a replay to determine who will move on to the FA Cup semifinals.
Manchester United salvaged a 1-1 draw against West Ham in the FA Cup quarterfinal via a late equalizer from Anthony Martial despite a poor team display.
The Hammers lead United thanks to a goal from Dimitri Payet off of a free kick, but Louis van Gaal’s men showed great resilience to rescue the result and stave off elimination from the competition.
However, despite finishing level with the opposition, the Manchester United squad played poorly and reverted to limited attacking movement and risk. After the match, the manager heaped praise on his side, further suggesting his detachment from reality.
Speaking to MUTV in the post match press conference, van Gaal said:
"“I was very happy because, when you see the spirit of my team, it’s unbelievable. When you lose a game against Liverpool, it’s very deep in the club and all the players know that, and then you have to play within a few days against West Ham.”“They’re a very good team and have fully prepared for this game for one week. We have to recover within two days and then are 1-0 behind so then, coming back like that, it’s fantastic. I’m very happy for my players. I think also the fans have enjoyed this game and I think that’s important.”"
More from Red Devil Armada
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Manchester United break an unwanted record after Brighton loss
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
There are two things wrong with his statement. First, the result isn’t fantastic. Obviously coming back to draw prevented elimination, but United will now have to travel to London later this month for the replay. Given the team’s poor away form under van Gaal, the prospects of advancing into the next round don’t look good. Even worse, it means another match in the club’s already packed schedule – something the manager will surely use an excuse if his team falls in the replay.
Additionally, there’s no evidence to back the claim of the fans enjoying the match. Based on the sarcastic applause when Marouane Fellaini was substituted and the intermittent boos, it’s clear that the Manchester United supporters were actually frustrated by the performance.
More from Manchester United News
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
- Mike Phelan blasts Manchester United teammates over Ronaldo exit
There were few bright spots, but the increased involvement of Bastian Schweinsteiger is hopefully a sign of better things to come. The Dutchman went on to pick out Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian as key figures in the game:
"I think he did fantastically but, of course, he played 50 minutes and 90 minutes is different. I was very happy with him and also with Matteo Darmian. He has played only three minutes coming off the bench and onto the pitch because I wanted to make another change. He did well also when he had to come on. I have given a lot of compliments to my players."
If Guillermo Varela’s injury turns out to be anything serious, Darmian will be the obvious choice to fill the void at right-back. Along with Schweinsteiger, the two players will need to rediscover their early season form if they want to retain their roles.
Next: United 1-1 West Ham: Player Ratings
With so much to play for and so little room for error in the remainder of the season, Manchester United will need to be firing on all cylinders. The team can no longer rely on individual effort to rescue points.