Van Gaal's Views On Victory Over Everton

Louis van Gaal was pleased to lead Manchester United to another important three points after the Reds saw off Everton 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Here are the main points from the manager's post-match press conference, and interviews with MUTV and Sky Sports...

On the result

“I think it was more or less a stolen victory because we didn’t play so well. It looked like we were not fresh enough in spite of the fact that we had a lot of days to prepare [for] the match. With the international break, you never know how the players are coming back. I’m very happy with the victory, but they [Everton] also could have scored two goals, I think. We were the lucky team today. It’s very important; if you lose today, the win against City is worthless. Now, we are still in the race and we have still four home matches and three away matches. It’s a very important game against Tottenham [on Sunday], we played well there last year, it was one of our best matches so I hope we shall continue that."

Sir Bobby Charlton tributes

"It was fantastic. It was a privilege to see how, in the English culture, they respect all the players – it’s marvellous to see. And when you see a standing ovation for Sir Bobby, some tears are in my eyes. I liked it very much and I think he deserved it. I watched Sir Bobby and Jimmy Greaves [as a child], who were idols for me at that time. Then I met him on my first day as manager here at Old Trafford and I was very honoured. So he was always in my mind and when I saw the standing ovation today, it was clear he is always in the mind of the fans. I have spoken with him [Sir Bobby] and also told the players we must get a victory today, otherwise this is not such a happy day for him anymore.

Blind and Rojo substitutions

“Daley Blind has played every match this season, more or less, and he is at the end of his strengths. I shall give him two days off this week, and then he is okay again. I think [Marcos] Rojo had a problem with his jet-lag, so I changed him. He came back [from international duty] on Thursday but I had to play him."

Anthony Martial

"I have already said in many press conferences that Anthony Martial, at his age, is an exception. He has played every match and, to do that, you have to be very strong and consistent because every week I compare every player with his competitor. So it is fantastic what he is doing."

Tim Fosu-Mensah

"I thought that there was a lot of space on the right wing in the first half, and after Tim took over, he did fantastically. I saw there was some space on the right side and I told Timothy he had to take advantage of that. And when the player does that, it’s a bit of luck for the manager, but every credit is for the player, for Timothy, and not for the manager."