After the victorious match against "Norwich City," Louis van Gaal shared his insights with MUTV journalists. Here are the thoughts of the head coach:
Weather conditions:
The weather conditions had a huge impact. Last week it was quite cool weather, but today the temperature reached 25 degrees Celsius. This could be seen on the players' faces, which were red and they were very tired. However, we won and that is the most important thing.
Critically important victory:
Yes, it is very important that we are still in the fight for the fourth position and we need to stay on this path to put pressure on our competitors. It is very important, and I am very happy. It is not easy when "Norwich" is fighting for survival, and we had to win these matches because we dropped points against "Leicester." Now we are still in the race.
Next opponent - "Hammers":
It will be a very difficult match. Now we have to play against "West Ham" away, and we have already met them in the FA Cup quarterfinals, so it won't be easy, but we have to replicate a performance that would secure us a victory. "West Ham" is a very good team, and their sixth place is not a coincidence. We were lucky in the FA Cup. I think we deserved the win, but we were fortunate that their goal in the last moments of the match was not counted.
Rest for Marcus Rashford and Daley Blind:
You can never turn back time and change your decisions. I think they needed to rest, and you saw that some other players also needed a free day. But I cannot let everyone rest, and that is a problem. I have to make such decisions beforehand, not after the matches. After the match, you can decide what should have been done differently, but it's not interesting anymore. I thought Daley and Marcus needed rest because they played a lot of matches, practically all. Rashford is still a young player, and he played in the last ten games, so it's not easy for him, and he had to rest. I wanted to give him a day off. The situation is very difficult now, especially when Matteo Darmian and Anthony Martial suffered injuries. You saw that Adnan Januzaj was warming up, but he didn't appear on the field due to the current score.
Great performance by Chris Smalling:
Of course, he was a very important factor and he played against strong attackers. At first against Cameron Jerome and later against Dieumerci Mbokani. But David de Gea's saved shot was also crucial at that moment of the match.
Support for "Arsenal" club on Sunday:
Actually, tomorrow more or less you will be a fan of the "Gunners," but it will be a tough match between those teams. Especially for "Manchester City," who will not find it easy to bounce back after losing to "Real Madrid."
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