Louis Van Gaal, who one might say is now a little less under pressure, thinks that Manchester United’s FA Cup victory over Derby County comes as an apt reply to their humiliating defeat at the hands of Southampton. The Dutchman also revealed that he is going to celebrate his squad’s 3-1 victory with good quality wine to be given to him by United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
This victory sees Manchester United progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup. Wayne Rooney scored the first goal of the match at the 16th minute. Rooney caught hold of the pass, cut in on his right foot, outplayed Keogh, and then beautifully curled the ball into the net. Rooney scored his 243rd goal for Manchester United and he is now six goals away from Sir Bobby Charlton’s 249 goals for the Red Devils.
George Thorne equalised for Derby at the 37th minute. When it seemed that the match was again set to be a stalemate, goals from Daley Blind and Juan Mata at the 65th minute and 83rd minute respectively to help United bounce back to a victory.
United can now breathe a sigh of relief
The Dutchman’s position now seems safe and he will be leading Manchester United against Stoke City on Tuesday to better their status in the Premier League. Van Gaal seemed pleased with his team’s performance and he said,
“The team performance after the match against Southampton – there was a lack of confidence, now the confidence was back. I have seen a team with a lot of cohesion. They want to fight for each other. That is, for a manager, very nice to see. And scoring goals, we need that, that we finished the chances out of creating chances.”
Van Gaal will be opening the wine that Woodward had given him after United’s 1-0 victory at Anfield. He said, “I come back and my wife is at home because she was in the Netherlands, and the wine is already open.
“We drank a nice bottle of wine, probably the most expensive wine, because I have received that from Ed Woodward. I always get expensive wine when we beat an opponent of the [traditional] top six. I don’t want to mention the name because it is a little bit extravagant.”
The United head coach is now confident that he will see out his contract till 2017 and on that note he said, “It is not a question of one match. It is difficult to understand but it is a process. It is a period of three years. This board is very intelligent to understand that.”
Reports have kept informing the world that Van Gaal is a strict person who does not allow players their freedom. But Van Gaal had something different to say.
“They didn’t have more freedom, they always have freedom from me. You want to write that but don’t ask a rhetorical question. For you, it is obvious ‘more freedom’. No. It is the same philosophy, same training session these past three days. I give my players always freedom, building up attack is more freedom than defending.
“I am always saying we have to move the ball more quickly; it is also dependent on the opponent. Today we could beat the pressure of Derby County but against Southampton we could not do that so easily, that is why you play more slowly. I want as a manager to play more quickly. When you can see it, I can see it also. Believe me – I am 40 years in this profession.”
