Louis van Gaal hailed the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday as a “very important three points” as the Reds go into the international break on the back of a victory that ends a three-game winless streak.

The Dutchman was once again forced into making compromises in defence due to injuries and suspension, but van Gaal was pleased with the way his side “killed the game” after finally breaking the deadlock on 67 minutes through substitute Juan Mata.

“In the first half we gave only one chance away and it was a miscommunication between McNair and Blind,” van Gaal told MUTV, referring to a missed chance for Crystal Palace’s former Reds forward Fraizer Campbell. “But in the second half we scored and that is the most important thing.

“After that, we tried to kill the game, we had to kill the game for the first time. So I am very happy. In spite of the fact we killed the game, we created a lot of chances. Rooney could have scored, Mata could have scored for the second time and van Persie also. We did it well because three points was very important. Now we have an international break after a victory, which is always better.”

The game-changing moment came with Juan Mata’s introduction from the bench as he replaced Adnan Januzaj. The fruitless forward forays of Januzaj and Angel Di Maria, who was also replaced in the second half, summed up the stubborn opposition Neil Warnock’s side put up.

“For [Di Maria] it was difficult because the space was very small. That was difficult for every player, but especially if you are a player who likes to dribble with the ball. You have to dribble through a lot of players so it was more of a passing game. We did that in the first half very well but didn’t score. Then in the second half we did score.

"They were defending and not attacking, but they have very quick strikers and you have to always pay attention to that. You have always one moment and that moment came in the first half and it could have been a goal for Palace with the lob over De Gea. OK, we were lucky that time, but I think we deserved to win."

And Mata was the man who provided the long-awaited breakthrough. “He didn’t change the formation or the style of play but he scored, and that’s always the most important thing. When you score, you win the game. Because of that we won. So I am happy with that.”

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Salmaan Abbas
Love All Things Football. Writer @VAVEL.