United quality now showing, says van Gaal

Three successive home wins and back-to-back league victories under Louis van Gaal for the first time suggest Manchester United may be heading back towards where they feel they belong. The league table is beginning to suggest that also.

Van Gaal knows not everything in the Old Trafford garden is rosy though, after only a heroic performance from goalkeeper David de Gea prevented Everton from gaining at least a draw. But at least the Dutchman will be able to keep rebuilding after the international break from a position of greater strength.

“That is what I have told my players,” said Van Gaal, whose side had just enough in hand to hang on and make Radamel Falcao’s first goal for the club 17 minutes into the second half a winner.

“We are not playing good but we are already fourth in the table. What is coming when we are playing well? But we have to do it 90 minutes. We have played very good for 45 minutes already, sometimes for 50 or 60, but we have to do it for 90 and that needs time.”

As has become the norm, United looked at times like a slick machine in attack. Falcao could and perhaps should have had a hat-trick to add to Angel Di Maria’s early goal.

But Everton not only missed a penalty and equalised through Steven Naismith’s fourth goal of the season, they also had three efforts in the dying moments of the game that would surely have brought some reward against a lesser keeper than de Gea, as Van Gaal conceded the Spaniard was the difference yesterday.

Van Gaal added: “When you stop those kind of shots, you are very good. I said to him it is always good when a goalkeeper has such games. It shall improve his confidence.”

Collectively, Van Gaal claimed that is a quality that is still to envelope his whole team as they once again failed to build on a promising first half. Di Maria was a typical example as he sparkled before the break but had less of an impact afterwards, admitting that the man-of-the-match award he received should have gone to his goalkeeper.

“He was the guy who deserved that. He saved us, particularly at the end and with the penalty,” said the Argentina international.

De Gea’s growing stature is one of the positive legacies left by former manager Alex Ferguson, who signed the 23-year-old from Atletico Madrid in 2011. And before kick-off yesterday, Ferguson gave United supporters a reminder of more successful times as he welcomed ex-midfielder Ji-sung Park as a new club ambassador in the former manager’s first public appearance on the Old Trafford pitch that was once his fiefdom since his retirement speech in 2013.

Both were multiple title winners and European champions, something United have struggled to resemble since Ferguson moved into his now more regular seat in the director’s box.

Van Gaal has much to do to follow suit but he negotiated one hurdle that tripped up both Ferguson and his predecessor David Moyes. Both Scotsmen lost to Everton in their first Premier League games at home to the Toffees and Moyes never got the chance to avenge the defeat to his former club last season — Everton’s first since that success over Ferguson 21 years earlier.

It appeared Van Gaal could not have chosen a better time to play the Merseysiders, given that they didn’t arrive back from a Europa League tie in Russia until the early hours of Friday morning.

Falcao and Robin van Persie, captain in place of the suspended Wayne Rooney, both missed early chances before Di Maria steered home his third goal of the season, from Juan Mata’s lay-off after 26 minutes.

Everton had barely threatened but in first-half stoppage time Luke Shaw tripped Tony Hibbert to concede a penalty.

De Gea superbly saved to deny Leighton Baines a 15th successive successful spot kick in the Premier League.

But far from being deflated, Everton took the fight to United after the break and levelled when Naismith headed in a Baines cross. Falcao had already spurned another chance and his wastefulness looked as though it might be costly, until the Colombian stretched out a leg with 62 minutes gone to divert a shot from Di Maria past Tim Howard for the first goal of his loan spell from AS Monaco.

With Steven Pienaar on the ground and waiting to be substituted, Everton manager Roberto Martinez thought play should have been stopped, “I just don’t understand that decision. It was a moment to change the player. Manchester United attacked and the ball ends up in our net. I don’t think that is fair. I think that action was a big mistake from the referee,” he said.

Everton could, however, have cleared the ball and their frustration was compounded as De Gea made superb late saves from Leon Osman, twice, and Bryan Oviedo to leave them with a solitary league win this season.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-1-2): De Gea 9; Rafael 7, McNair 7, Rojo 7, Shaw 7 (Blackett 71); Valencia 7 (Fellaini 79), Blind 7, Di Maria 8; Mata 6; van Persie 6, Falcao 6 (Wilson 73).

EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Howard 6: Hibbert 6 (Browning 77), Stones 7, Jagielka 7, Baines 6; Besic 7, Barry 7; McGeady 6 (Osman 77), Naismith 8, Pienaar 5 (Oviedo 63); Lukaku.

Referee: Kevin Friend.