Van Gaal And Young Praise Januzaj Display

Louis van Gaal and Ashley Young prasied the performance of substitute Adnan Januzaj after the Belgian winger helped Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over Sunderland.

Having replaced Angel Di Maria at the break and witnessed Wayne Rooney open the scoring from the spot, Januzaj assisted the skipper’s second by forcing Costel Pantilimon into a save from his low strike before the ball was nodded in.

While Wayne Rooney was named Man of the Match with 51 per cent of fan votes (Januzaj got 24 per cent, and Young earned 24 per cent), it was Januzaj's positivity in attack that really made a difference.

Van Gaal was visibly delighted with the 20-year-old's impact at full time, and he later told MUTV: "I was very happy that he registered an assist for the first time, it’s something I like to see from every player."

Ashley Young, meanwhile, felt Januzaj met the requirements of his manager in exemplary fashion, contributing to the Reds' spirited second-half display at Old Trafford.

United’s No.18 said of his fellow wide-man: “He was terrific. As a winger, you want to get the ball and run at your full-back. He did exactly that, did exactly what the manager asked him to do at half-time. It was a great performance by him but it was a team performance and everyone in the team, everyone that came on, was fantastic."