Manchester United Manager, Louis van Gaal, insists he is proud of his players despite their Europa League exit at the hands of Liverpool.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, United took the lead through Anthony Martial’s penalty before Philippe Coutinho equalised for Liverpool with a brilliant solo goal as the game ended 1-1.
However, the endeavour of United drew praise from their manager.
“I’m not angry, I’m not frustrated, I was very proud of players, they have given everything,” said Van Gaal.
“I was very pleased that the fans also recognised that because they applauded even though we are out of the Europa League. It was remarkable I think.”
The United boss compared his side’s performance at Old Trafford to that of Liverpool in the first leg at Anfield; only they did not take their chances.
“We played, I think, like Liverpool did play in their home match,” he added. “We have created a lot of chances.
“In the first half we scored the penalty and [Jesse] Lingard, [Juan] Mata, [Marouane] Fellaini, Martial [all missed chances] and then you concede one goal in the last seconds [of the half].
“They scored the away goal, that’s what we did not do in Liverpool. That was the difference.”
Van Gaal also pointed to the fact that his side had an extra game in between the two legs while Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool had a weekend off as a key factor in deciding the tie.
“We also played West Ham United and we were 1-0 behind and again had to give everything,” the Dutchman said.
“We had to recover then and Liverpool have a week free – that’s a big difference and you could see that in the last 15 minutes.”
Van Gaal must now lift his players ahead of a derby clash with Manchester City on Super Sunday.
United’s last hope of a trophy this season is the FA Cup, where they will face West Ham in a quarter-final replay.
