Today’s 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion felt like a loss for Manchester United, but Manager Louis van Gaal put a more positive spin on it. With a truly overwhelming 67%-33% advantage on possession, United did dominate today’s match. Sort of. Anyone who watched the game noticed that United kept the ball in West Brom’s half of the field for a huge majority of the game.
Perhaps that is why Louis van Gaal said that today’s Red Devils performance was the best effort they’ve put out this season.
“I’m very disappointed because we played our best match of the season and the result is not good enough,” Van Gaal said. “I think we could have won but that doesn’t count in our world so that’s why I’m disappointed, but I also have to be happy because we created a lot of chances and only two shots from West Bromwich Albion turned into goals.”
“We gave it away because of our individual errors and that’s a pity…”
“I’ve seen on the training ground now that we are better, the players understand the formation more and I’ve seen it today which is why it’s such a pity we didn’t get the result we deserved.”
You would think that maybe the Everton win was the best performance. Given that the Toffees are probably a more talented team. Of course, David de Gea saved his side in that one. It wasn’t a more complete effort. And of course the win over Queens Park Rangers was a complete domination. But then QPR are an awful side, so what did that match really prove?
Maybe Van Gaal is right. Maybe Van Gaal is wrong. It’s debatable so have at it in the comments section.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2
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