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According to manager Louis Van Gaal, Manchester United had their best game and produced their best football in the match against West Bromwich Albion which ended in a 2-2 draw on Monday night.
The Red Devils came twice from behind, and showed glimpses of their fighting spirit, which had died last season under David Moyes. Marouane Fellaini finally opened his account with a scorcher of a goal, after being on for just 6 minutes. Daley Blind also opened his account with a brilliant low driven shot to the keeper’s right in the 87th minute, which equalised the score for United.
United played their best game of the season against West Brom – Van Gaal
It was a frustrating draw for the Red Devils as they had 22 shots on goal, with 7 on target, whereas West Brom had only 2 shots on target – both of them resulting in goals. Stephane Sessegnon opened the scoring in brilliant fashion as he drove home a shot into the right top corner from just outside the box after 8 minutes. Saido Berahino continued his good form as he scored the 2nd goal for the Baggies after he was played onside by the poor United defense.
Man Utd looked really vulnerable at the back as the Baggies exposed their inexperienced backline on numerous occasions and scored on both the attempts they had.
Van Gaal, was still impressed with the way United played but was disappointed with the result.
"I have to be happy because we created lots of chances and West Brom only had two chances," he said. "We gave it away, which is a pity because we could have had a new start if we had won.
"There were individual errors and they were forced because West Brom were playing more narrow in midfield and we had to push up."
Man Utd can catch up to Chelsea
When asked about the game against Chelsea and about their hope of catching up to the league leaders, Van Gaal was extremely confident about clsoing the gap, even though they are currently 10 points behind the league leaders. The former Barcelona manager heaped praise on United’s attack and said that if they continue to press the oposition the way they did, and convert the chances that they missed, they could beat Chelsea and Manchester City in the upcoming games.
Van Gaal refused to accept the fact that he needs to sacrifice some attacking flair to make the team more solid. “I don’t think that is the solution,” he said. “I have already explained that a lot of times. It was two errors [against Albion]. And also in the past, because I think we could have eight points more and then we are up [the table].”
Man Utd have to really work on their defense and they have got to look to buy an experienced and versatile defender in the January trasnfer window, if they want to improve thier chances of finishing in the top 4 or challenging for the title.
Here is what Van Gaal had to say at the end of the match.
