Van Gaal Focused On Swansea

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was pleased to win the International Champions Cup but immediately set his sights on the first game of the Barclays Premier League season.

The Reds ended the tour on a high by beating Liverpool 3-1 in Miami, thanks to second-half goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and substitute Jesse Lingard.

It's a first trophy of van Gaal's reign but the Dutchman played down its significance, instead stating that his focus is on the visit of Swansea to Old Trafford on 16 August.

"It's nice for the fans in the USA and also at home that we beat Liverpool," he said at his post-match press conference.

"I think we gave a lot of pleasure to the fans and that's very important. Of course, it's better to win than to lose in pre-season but the most important game is against Swansea City. That's the one we have to win."

After a quiet first half at the Sun Life Stadium, Rooney sparked United's comeback with a neat left-volley, his fifth goal of the tour, and was later named player of the tournament.

"He's always a winner," van Gaal said. "I think he deserved to win the award because he made a lot of assists and scored goals. But we also defended well - there are a lot of defenders who could also have been the most valuable player of this tournament.

"For Rooney, the goal was very important. It was a wonderful goal. You see the attack and what he did to push the ball under the legs of the goalkeeper and also in the corner. It was also a great cross from Chicharito."

Rooney was captain for the night but van Gaal, who has also given the armband to Tom Cleverley and Darren Fletcher on the tour, said he had intended to share it around.

"I'm always looking for opportunities to give players the captain's armband," he said. "Today, Rooney played 90 minutes for the first time. Fletcher has already done it twice and therefore he [Rooney] was the captain. Cleverley also played 90 minutes."

Antonio Valencia came off early in the first half and van Gaal revealed it was the result of United's demanding training schedule in the States.

"Valencia had a feeling in his leg," the boss said. "I had told him before the game that you have to listen to your body. The accumulation of tiredness in this tournament is high.

"All the players want to play but you have to be clever and he was clever to step out. When you're feeling something in your leg, you have to pay attention to it."

On Danny Welbeck, who came off against Real Madrid, van Gaal added: "His reaction today was good, but it's wise we didn't play him."