Following Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, Louis van Gaal has admitted that Angel Di Maria needs more time to adapt to the Premier League. The Red Devils’ record summer signing was substituted at the first half interview to be replaced by the young and energetic Adnan Januzaj.
Di Maria has been way past his best ever since making the move to England and looks far away from the player he was at Real Madrid which prompted United to splash £59.7m for his services in the summer. Van Gaal though believes that the Argentine is the right choice for the old Trafford side.
The United manager said, “We have to give Angel more time to adapt to the Premier League; it’s not so easy with the high tempo. I want to give him time, it’s also not easy to change a player of his quality, but I have to make these decisions.”
The Dutch legend though praised Januzaj for his second half display. The young Belgian saw his shot parried by Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon into teh path of Wayne Ronney who headed United’s second goal. “I was very happy that he registered an assist for the first time, it’s something I like to see from every player.”
United’s best player on the pitch was arguably Ashley Young who constantly drove his team forward with his energetic runs from the left wing. Radamel Falcao did look rusty but the Colombian’s exquisite control in the second half saw United win the penalty after he was shrugged off the ball from behind by a combination of ex United defenders John O’Shea and Wes Brown.
It was far from a convincing performance from United who yet again managed to get three points and now stand thirs in the Premier League standings. Van Gaal later said, “It was comfortable [in the second half] because they had 10 men and we didn’t give them any chances in the second half. We played with control; it’s a step in the process to finish a game off when you are winning.
“Perhaps [Marouane] Fellaini could have scored, and there was also [Antonio] Valencia’s shot, so we could have scored more goals. Goal difference can be very important at the end of the season in this rat race for the top four.”
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