Van Gaal Impressed By Smalling And Herrera

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal praised substitutes Chris Smalling and Ander Herrera for their contribution in the 3-1 victory over Burnley.
.
Smalling scored twice and earned the Man of the Match award while MUTV’s David May also included Spanish schemer Herrera on his three-man shortlist. Both pressed their claims for a start in the FA Cup tie at Preston North End next week, even if the overall team performance disappointed the boss.
.
When asked if the early enforced withdrawal of Phil Jones and Daley Blind upset his side, van Gaal replied to MUTV: “I don’t think the subs did badly! I like Smalling. He scores two times and he’s never scored twice in a match because I asked him.
.
“Furthermore, in the second half, he was improving his game. I was very happy with him. Also Herrera, who was coming in for Blind, played very well, I think.”
.
The Reds struggled to impress in the first period and were fortunate to go into the interval with a 2-1 advantage, courtesy of Smalling’s stoppage-time header, following Danny Ings’ equaliser.
.
“It was not good in the first half,” admitted van Gaal. “We didn’t perform well and Burnley were the better team on the pitch. But we were ahead in the result and I was very happy with that.