In the video below Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal calls Chris Smalling’s second yellow card “stupid” as it forced United to play a man down for about two-thirds of the game. United then went on to lose 1-0 at The Etihad. As this is the Manchester Derby, emotions run high and Smalling was rightfully ripped apart by the Man United online community after the game.
Here’s what Van Gaal had to say after the match:
“In a derby you have to be careful – the second yellow card is a stupid yellow card,”
“The sending off is not one of those things. As a player you have to control your aggression.”
“I didn’t see the first yellow but with the second, you know you already have a yellow, so have to handle it differently. I said that to the players.”
Van Gaal did have some optimistic things to say later though:
“The red card had an influence on the game but, despite being 10 men against 11, we played better in the second half than the first because of willpower of this team,”
“We are very close. You saw it against Chelsea and now against Manchester City. They are the two best clubs in this league and the difference is zero I think.
“When you see what we did with 10 men you can be proud as a coach.”
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