Louis van Gaal: ‘Manchester United a team always under pressure’

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has claimed that he and his players are under constant “pressure”.

On Thursday the Red Devils were knocked out of the Europa League at the last-16 stage by Liverpool, who won 3-1 on aggregate.

Liverpool headed into last night’s match at Old Trafford as favourites following their 2-0 win at Anfield in the first leg.

United tried to inspire a comeback when Anthony Martial netted from the penalty spot, but Philippe Coutinho scored an all-important away goal on the stroke of half-time.

Van Gaal’s future as United manager has been a major talking point throughout the season, but the Dutchman has insisted that he can handle the pressure.

“Manchester United always has pressure, because expectations are very high,” The Mirror quotes Van Gaal as saying. “The pressure for these players is also very high. We know that and we can cope with that, but we have to beat Manchester City [on Sunday] because it is another chance to qualify for the Champions League.

“We played like Liverpool did in the home match with us. We created a lot of chances in the first-half and scored a penalty. Then we conceded a goal in the last seconds of the first-half. That was the difference – how they felt in the dressing room and how we had to try to raise ourselves.

“Then we had to score three goals and it’s not easy, but we fought to the end. You have to give credit to Coutinho, because it was a fantastic action.”

The last-16 tie between the long-time arch rivals marked the first time that the clubs met in a European competition.