Van Gaal salutes super saver De Gea

Louis van Gaal watched Manchester United thump arch-rivals Liverpool to strength their grip on returning to the Champions League but claims he is still searching for more from his players.

Van Gaal, whose side are third and now five points clear of fifth-placed Southampton, was still not content as goalkeeper David De Gea was required to produce a string of fine saves to ensure victory.

Van Gaal, who has lost defender Marcus Rojo to an unspecified injury, said: “We are winning now — six matches in-a-row is fantastic — but we still have to improve our playing style. Only after the matches against QPR and Hull did I say we dominated the game. We didn’t do that. We can learn to kill the game more easily.

“In spite of the goals we gave a lot of chances away. That was every time we gave unnecessary passes away and that is how we have to improve.

“I’m proud we have a clean sheet but that is also because David de Gea has superb reactions.

“You can always say that some players are the most influential in a game and of course David de Gea has a big influence. He did it very well but I can mention others who were also very good and had a big influence.”

Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers claims there is no additional pressure on him despite the club languishing in ninth place in the Premier League.

Rodgers opted to drop goalkeeper Simon Mignolet for Brad Jones, but that switch did not make any difference.

Rodgers, who confirmed Jones will remain in goal for Wednesday’s League cup tie at Bournemouth, said: “I felt after the Basel game I had to make a change. Simon has been fine, he’s a good professional. I spoke to him the other day and he accepted it.

“I don’t think Brad Jones had much to do today, other than for the goals. The change is for an indefinite period.

“We are looking to build the team again and recapture the team ethos. It’s not easy when consistently you are not scoring goals. The bottom line is we haven’t been consistent over the course of the season.

“The most important thing for me was we looked like scoring. Over the season we haven’t been creative enough. Raheem Sterling was outstanding, his movement was great, he was just unfortunate not to get a goal.

“I didn’t think it was a 3-0 game. I thought we were the better team in the first half but we gave away disappointing goals.”