The Dutchman says it could only take one complete 90-minute display to give his new-look team the platform they need for lift-off.
So far United have played well only for the first hour of their games – the latest they have scored a goal in any game so far was the 63rd-minute strike by Radamel Falcao in their win over Everton just before the international break, a stark contrast to their habit of late strikes under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Van Gaal said: “At Bayern in my first season our revival started when we played a fantastic champions League game against Juventus and won 4-1. It gave us that psychological benefit and we never looked back. We can do that here. It can come in any game.
“We have been fantastic in the first hour of our last four matches against Everton, West Ham, Leicester and QPR but a game lasts 90 minutes and we must learn to kill games off.
“You can do that not with one, or three or eight players you have to do that with all 11 singing from the same songsheet otherwise you lose balls unnecessarily and then we are going back instead of forward. That’s what we have to do but that takes time.
“I am looking for a better balance in the team, not only spectacular attacking football but also when you lose the ball you must have a shape as a team and then you can defend more easily.
“I don’t think it is a question that the players are not fit enough. Even though I have lowered the intensity of my sessions, we are fit enough because the players are fighting to the last minute and they are willing to do everything. We are evaluating the reasons why, we must improve and learn from our mistakes.”
United’s absence from European competition means they will make a rare appearance in a Monday TV game tonight but despite suggestions that a less congested fixture list could help them return to the top four this season, Van Gaal admits he would much rather be in the Champions League.
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Barcelona are hoping to break a record as well as inflict defeat on rivals Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season on Saturday.
The Spanish giants meet in the capital, with Barca currently four points clear of their rivals at the top of the table – thanks to a 3-0 home win over top-flight newcomers Eibar.
Lionel Messi scored the final goal, adding to efforts from Xavi and Neymar, to bring his La Liga tally to 250 – putting him one behind all-time top scorer Telmo Zarra of Athletic Bilbao.
The game is also set to mark Luis Suarez’s first Barca appearance, with the ex-Liverpool striker having served his four-month ban.
Real superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has already broken a record, however – the hottest scoring start to a Spanish top-flight season.
The ex-Manchester United icon scored twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Levante, which made it 15 goals in seven games – beating Esteban Echevarria’s record of 14 for Real Oviedo set in 1943.
Barca boss Luis Enrique said: “We will be going to Real to win, as we have done over the last few years. But I don’t think the game will be decisive.”
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FormerEngland captain Gary Lineker has taken to Twitter to blast ‘arrogant and patronising’ Arsene Wenger after the Frenchman’s BBC interview.
The Arsenal boss was dismissive during an interview with the BBC and told reporter Jacqui Oatley “You don’t listen very well to me.”
Wenger was speaking after his side’s 2-2 draw with Hull, which has left the Gunners with just two wins from eight games and already 11 points off league leaders Chelsea.
Former Tottenham forward Lineker said: “Must say, I thought Arsene Wenger was arrogant, defensive and patronising to Jacqui Oatley in the face of excellent and fair questioning.”
Here’s how the interview went:
Oatley : “So just be clear why you felt you didn’t win the game bearing in mind you said you dominated it?”
Wenger: “You look at the numbers, look at the number of shots on goal, how many times did they come in our half and you will see that they defended well and [we] made it difficult for ourselves by giving them a second goal and we were a bit unlucky as well and the usual football game where one team defends and one attacks and the team who takes the initiative doesn’t always win, especially when you are one goal behind it gives them morale to defend well and they did it well.
Oatley: “You feel you didn’t win the game because they didn’t come out of their half enough?”
Wenger: “I didn’t say that, you don’t listen really well to me.”
Oatley: “Two wins from eight matches in the Premier League this season, who or what do you think is to blame for that?”
Wenger: “Who is to blame? Why do you always want to blame people? We try our best and we can only look at ourselves and nobody else, I don’t understand the question.”
Oatley: “A lot of the Arsenal supporters are looking at the fact there wasn’t another centre half or a defensive central midfielder signed in the summer, can you understand why they say that?”
Wenger: “I can understand everything.”
Oatley: “Are they correct in saying that’s the reason why things are not going well at the moment?”
Wenger: “Look you have to respect everybody’s opinion. You have been at the game today I don’t know why you come up with such a question when you have seen the game today. I don’t think our problem was there today.”
Oatley: “You said there was problem in defence with conceding too many goals…”
“Yes, but some other teams have bought many defenders and concede goals as well, I thinks it’s more problem of concentration than of quality.”
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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to blast £16m Mario Balotelli for his stunning miss against QPR on Sunday.
In the 60th minute of an end-to-end encounter against QPR at Loftus Road, Balotelli somehow managed to balloon the ball over the bar from six yards despite having an open goal to aim at.
Liverpool fans were quick to express their frustration with the Italian.
One fed-up fan wrote: “Oh, goodness me. How in the world did Mario Balotelli miss THAT?”
Another summed up the mood, saying: “Mario Balotelli has been dreadful for Liverpool today, he missed an absolute sitter of a chance, it was terrible!”
Golfer Lee Westwood was quick to join in the criticism of Balotelli.
He said: “You have no sympathy for Balotelli there when he’s had the attitude of a spoilt kid for most of the game.”
One frustrated Liverpool fan said: “Mario Balotelli doing his best Fernando Torres impression. Unfortunately for us it’s the Torres that played for Chelsea.”
Finally, a West Ham supporter indicated the former Manchester City striker was worse than Carlton Cole.
]]>After a luckless defeat by Liverpool, Redknapp lashed out at Morocco international Adel Taarabt, claiming the Morocco international has added a lot of weight.
Redknapp claimed Taarabt is a lazy player, who does not like to train.
“I can’t keep protecting people, who don’t want to run about and train, and are about three stone overweight,” said Redknapp said.
“What am I supposed to keep saying? Keep getting your 60, 70 grand a week and don’t train? What’s the game coming to?
“He’s not fit to play football unfortunately. He played in a reserve game the other day and I could have run about more than he did.
“I can’t pick him. I pick people who want to try, who deserve to be at a good football club like QPR, who come in every day and want to work, train and show a good attitude.
“When he starts doing that, if he ever can do it, maybe he’ll get a game.
“It’s the same old people. We’ve got two or three of them.”
Taarabt didn’t feature against Liverpool and has made just two substitute appearances in the Premier League this season.
But the 67-year-old is clearly gutted after seeing his men lose in madcap style, with the killer strike – an own goal from Steven Caulker – coming in the fifth minute of added-time.
]]>Monk said he was disappointed with referee Oliver’s decision to award Stoke the penalty which, according to him changed the game. He described the decision as a ‘’disgrace’’.
The Potters were awarded the spot kick when Angel Rangel challenged Moses, but it looked as if the Nigerian – on loan from Chelsea, went down easily.
‘’The penalty against us is a disgrace. It’s a disgraceful decision. Not in a million years is it a penalty and the problem we’ll have with it now is a lot of games we’re having this season a match-changing decision is going against us constantly and I don’t see anything being done about it.
‘’He (Victor Moses) should be punished for diving, it’s a clear dive which is cheating. He’s cheated the ref and then the ref’s cheated us for giving the decision that never was.
‘’I just think it’s a poor, poor decision and it’s cost us at a vital time where we’re just coming up to half-time – we should have been coming in 1-0 up and it’s a different game then, a different game plan for us second half.’
Monk also criticized Mike Riley’s response as the leaders of the referee‘s association, to issues concerning bad officiating.
‘’I’ve spoke to the referees about it and the association about it and I don’t hear anything from (referee chief) Mike Riley coming back to me at all, which I find poor leadership and the whole thing is becoming to mount up now which is becoming a very worrying situation. Monk said.
]]>Monk is set to get tough in order to avoid Bony being thrown into an Ebola nightmare.
The West African nation has been at the centre of the deadly Ebola outbreak.
Monk said he would withdraw Bony from international duty to ensure his £12million striker, scorer of 25 goals last season, is not put in harm’s way.
He said: “We paid a lot of money for Wilfried, and you have to look after your assets.
“Our medical team and doctors will converse with him, which is the most important thing. If there are any concerns between us and we feel this could really be a problem then we would have to pull him out.
“I am not here to stop any player representing his country. But if you have an asset like that and there were major concerns the liability lies with us, not their country or federation.
“Players would have to understand and Wilf is a clever lad.”
The striker, along with Manchester City’s Yaya Toure and Newcastle’s Cheick Tiote are expected to join the rest of the squad for the crucial encounter next month.
The West African nation has been at the centre of the deadly Ebola outbreak.
Of the 4,500 deaths from the virus, 1,200 have come in Sierra Leone and 425 new cases were reported just last week.
]]>The England star played 45 minutes of the match at Boreham Wood, easing himself back into competitive injury after only returning to full training on Monday.
When Walcott was taken off on a stretcher in Arsenal’s FA Cup third round derby with Tottenham on January 4, nobody could have known it would take the England winger 286 days before returning to action.
Missing the World Cup would have hurt, as would being absent from Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph at Wembley in May and Walcott will desperately want to make up the lost time now that he has returned.
This was a gentle reintroduction – there were a few tantalising glimpses of that trademark pace as he skipped away from the Blackburn defenders.
There were also a few inaccurate passes and under-hit crosses as he tries to rediscover that sharpness, but that’s to be expected.
With Arsene Wenger in the midst of a debilitating injury crisis, Walcott’s return to the competitive arena will be most welcome.
The Arsenal boss is without Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Aaron Ramsey and Yaya Sanogo for Saturday’s visit of Hull City. Every day seems to bring fresh injury headaches.
So there is a chance he’ll be in the squad for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Anderlecht but, on this evidence, he perhaps needs a few more minutes under his belt before his first-team introduction.
]]>Aston Villa assistant manager Keane claimed a Sunday league boss would have floored Mourinho if he had done that.
Mourinho said: ‘First I want to say that I appreciate the comments (from Keane), I think that they are both two great examples of polite and well educated people. Because I am a humble guy trying to learn every day. I appreciate their comments.
Asked if he would understand why people would be upset: ‘No’.
Asked if he would do it again, he replied: ‘Yes’.
A week after the victory over Villa, Mourinho clashed with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on the touchline during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over the Gunners.
Having initially claimed he had nothing to apologise for, Wenger has since told French TV he ‘regrets’ the incident.
Asked whether he was pleased with the apology, Mourinho replied: ‘I have no reaction. No reaction.
‘I gave you my reaction after the match, saying nothing had happened. The reaction from everyone else was saying nothing had happened.’
]]>Manager Brendan Rodgers had been hoping the striker’s return to fitness would be a boost to his faltering side.
Rodgers was hoping to welcome back Sturridge, who been sidelined since picking up a thigh injury while on international duty with Englandto his starting line-up this weekend.
Now Sturridge, who injured his calf during a warm-up at Melwood on Thursday, will miss a number of crucial games, including home and away Champions League group games against Real Madrid.
The Reds have seven games in the next three weeks, including a last 16 Capital One Cup tie against Swansea on October 28 and a Barclays Premier League clash against Chelsea at Anfield on November 8.
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