Louis van Gaal turns up the heat on Man City

Manchester United 3 Aston Villa 1: Alex Ferguson was king of the mind games when he ruled Old Trafford as Manchester United’s all-conquering manager and now it appears some of that psychological warfare is being added to Louis van Gaal’s armoury.

Van Gaal has not previously been in a place to turn the mental heat up on opponents during an unconvincing first season as the would-be successor to Ferguson’s throne following the miserable 12 months endured by David Moyes.

But following a fifth successive Premier League win and with a place in next season’s Champions League looking increasingly assured, the old Dutch master is asking questions of a Manchester City side he is preparing to face in Sunday’s derby at Old Trafford.