Van Gaal Rues Missing Tempo

Louis van Gaal felt a lack of tempo, caused by wayward passing, was the reason Manchester United were unable to beat Sunderland on Sunday.

The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw in the Barclays Premier League encounter at the Stadium of Light after Jack Rodwell headed home from a corner to cancel out Juan Mata’s early tap-in.

Van Gaal was happier with his side’s display in the second half, which featured the introduction of Danny Welbeck and Adnan Januzaj off the bench, but was frustrated by his side’s play in the final third.

"In the first half we played an equal match with Sunderland," the boss told Sky Sports. "We didn’t create much other than the first goal, which was fantastic.

"We have already warned our players not to give set-pieces away and we gave a lot away; then they scored from one, which is disappointing.

"In the second half we played much better but we could have created more. We missed too many passes – it was either too slow or too hasty, and then you lose the ball and the tempo is gone from the game. That, in my opinion, was the reason [for not winning]."

Ashley Young was booked for diving after the interval when he went down in the box under a challenge from ex-Red Wes Brown, while the returning Robin van Persie also had a penalty appeal turned down.

Van Gaal added: "I don’t think it was dive because he was touched by the opponent. After that he did exaggerate, but what counts is that he was kicked by the opponent.

"I think [the referee] could also have given a penalty to van Persie. You could say he was already falling but the tackle was coming – some referees would have given that. Nevertheless, we need to be creating more chances, rather than just relying on penalties."