Van Gaal: Our Risks Paid Off

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal believes second-half tactical changes, that saw the Reds revert to a four-man defence, were key to ensuring an important win against QPR in the capital.

A scrappy first half saw few chances for the visitors with United struggling to find a rhythm against Harry Redknapp's stubborn outfit. The manager felt his team's play needed an injection of pace and introduced James Wilson to the fray, in addition to the earlier arrival of Marouane Fellaini.

"I think pace is always important, which is why we try to play with Angel Di Maria as a striker," van Gaal told MUTV. "When I changed the shape, I wanted speed or pace also in the attacking line, that’s why I changed in that way. It’s a change in attack that brings lot of risk, but we have won 2-0 and I think it was deserved."

At the other end of the field, the boss was also pleased to see a shut-out at the back, with the likes of Marcos Rojo and Antonio Valencia making an impression.

"The defensive organisation has been good from the beginning," the Dutchman added. "We have only one match against Leicester City that was five goals and, because of that, we had bad average against us, but I think we have a very good defensive organisation so that is not a problem."