Louis van Gaal praised his Manchester United side for finally dominating “from first minute to last” in their 3-0 win over Hull at Old Trafford as Robin van Persie, who was questioned by the manager beforehand, responded with a superb 66th-minute strike to seal victory.
The success came at a price, though, as a suspected hamstring injury suffered by Ángel di María ruled him out of Stoke’s visit on Tuesday evening, and Wayne Rooney suffered knocks to his calf and his knee – though the captain insisted he will be available.
Before Rooney secured United’s second goal, just before the half-time break, Chris Smalling had opened the scoring on 16 minutes, with Van Persie involved in the goalmouth scramble in the buildup.
Van Gaal had described the striker as “very bad” in United’s 2-1 win over Arsenal last weekend. Yet despite a tentative start against Hull, Van Persie improved in the second half, with his 20-yard rocket his fourth goal of the campaign.
Van Gaal said: “Every striker needs a goal and, when you don’t score in two or three matches, you really need a goal. I am very happy and pleased for him that he scored today, but I am sure he can do better than he did today.”
The manager started Van Persie in an unfamiliar deep-lying role before moving him back into attack following Di María’s withdrawal. “In the beginning, he played at No10 and not No9,” Van Gaal said. “But when I was forced to put him in the No9 role instead after the injury to Di María, he played better. He can also play very well as a No10, but I am very pleased that he scored and had a good influence on this game.”
The manager enjoyed United’s display, saying: “We scored three, created more chances and didn’t give any away. That’s very good. It is the first match we have dominated from the first minute to the last minute and in a way that I like. I was very pleased with the performance and I have said that to the players.”
Di María’s enforced removal on 13 minutes made him the 41st United player to suffer an injury this season. “Ángel shall be out for Stoke City, I think,” said Van Gaal. “Wayne, I don’t know. He said he would be fit. He had a kick on his calf I believe. I don’t know. He then had a kick on his knee, but it was not too serious because he said he will play on Tuesday.”
