Manchester United hosted Liverpool today in a clash of the titans of English football. The game was a well fought one, however it was United that took the 3 points with a 3-0 victory over their bitterest rivals. Wayne Rooney provided the first goal, with Juan Mata and Robin van Persie delivering the fatal blows to a defensively weak Liverpool side.
Louis van Gaal had several things to say about his winning side: “We pressed from the front and that was the key,” he explained. The United boss was also eager to point out that they deserved the victory, especially after he criticised his side for not deserving victories in the past few weeks. United are now on a 6-game winning streak, which everyone involved with Manchester United will be utterly delighted with.
LvG also altered his squad slightly, “I have to assess my players’ abilities but also the opponents’ qualities, in order to cause them damage”. It’s safe to say that his squad caused Liverpool lots of damage today, as well as keeping a clean sheet. All previous doubts about van Gaal’s system and philosophy have now been discarded after another win.
The major anomaly in van Gaal’s squad selection was the replacement of in-form Marcos Rojo with Phil Jones, especially as the Englishman had only just returned from injury. However, the Dutch boss clarified that he didn’t want to risk Rojo as he, “felt something yesterday,” during a United training session. Despite this, Jones performed up to scratch, aiding his team to a hard-earned clean sheet.