Louis Van Gaal: Manchester United ‘Stole’ Everton Victory


Manchester United recorded an integral victory over Everton on Sunday, as they kept up with their cross city rivals Manchester City in their pursuit to finish in the top four of the Premier League.

However, rather than being impressed with their win, Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal instead insisted that it was one that his side didn’t deserve. In fact, he said that they the “stole victory” away from Robert Martinez’s Everton.

Manchester United only had two shots on target during the entire contest against Everton at Old Trafford, but Anthony Martial’s strike in the 54th minute of the contest was enough for United to earn the valuable three points.

Speaking after the match, Louis Van Gaal admitted to the BBC, “We didn’t play so well. We didn’t create many chances. Everton are a very good team, much stronger away than at home, and it was a very tight game. We were the lucky team today.”

For the 15th time this season, Manchester United went into half-time against Everton having not scored a goal, and not conceded one either. This has led to fans and media alike criticizing Manchester United’s style of play, especially since the club isn’t currently competing for the Premier League title, too.

But Louis Van Gaal insisted that Sunday’s match against Everton was very entertaining for fans because of how tense they were as Manchester United tried to hold out for the result.

“We want to give entertainment for the fans, but the fans were entertained today because of the tension,” Louis Van Gaal continued.

Despite these complaints, Manchester United are still very much in the race to finish in the top four, which means that they would qualify for next season’s Champions League. In their last match, before the international break, Manchester United recorded a 1-0 victory over Manchester City to close to just one point behind them.

That’s why Louis Van Gaal was so relieved with the win against Everton, as he explained, “If we lose today, the victory against Manchester City is worthless. Now we are still in the race. We have a very important game against Tottenham.”

Manchester United play Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane this Sunday, and both teams will be desperate to record victory. While United are looking to keep up with Manchester City, Tottenham’s draw with Liverpool on Saturday means that they are now 7 points behind table-topping Leicester City, who beat Southampton on Sunday morning to extend their lead.

Manchester United were far from their best against Everton. In fact, they were grateful for Anthony Martial’s low, driven finish that deflected into the goal off Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles.

Roberto Martinez was desperately upset with the way his side conceded their goal though, declaring to the BBC after the match, “The goal was a very soft action, it’s not up to our standards. The performances were very, very level and we shouldn’t have lost the game. It’s the sort of game that came down to small margins – the ball hitting the crossbar is the difference between us getting something out of the game.”

After Manchester United scored, Everton defender Phil Jagielka saw his free-header from a corner ricochet off the bar after he brushed off his marker, midfielder Morgan Schniederlin. But, despite having plenty of possession, Everton were unable to create any further clear cut chances, let alone an equalizer.

[Image via Getty/Alex Livesey]

Share this article: Louis Van Gaal: Manchester United ‘Stole’ Everton Victory
More from Inquisitr