Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said his side deserved to advance to the FA Cup final after the Reds beat Everton 2-1 in their semi-final at Wembley.
Anthony Martial’s dramatic last-minute winner ensured that the Reds booked their place in the final at the same venue on May 21 and they will face either Watford or Crystal Palace, who play in the other semi-final on Sunday.
But it was by no means an easy stroll for United, who had to respond to increasing pressure from the Toffees after Chris Smalling’s own goal fifteen minutes from time.
Speaking to the BBC after the game, the United manager praised his players for showing the passion required to win and said it was fantastic to see their celebrations following the victory.
He said:
It’s fantastic when you see the joy in the eyes of the players. But also for the fans, because I think we deserved to reach the final. We were the better team in the first half and had so many chances – we could have finished it much earlier.
It was an exciting game for the neutral fans and we are lucky that we scored in the last minute, but we deserved to win. I told [Chris] Smalling he was a lucky guy because now we can smile! He played a very good match. Both teams showed a lot of passion and will to win, so I’m very happy that we were the winners.
In the post-match press conference, Van Gaal also revealed some advice he gave to Martial at half-time:
He could have scored in the first half when he was in the same situation, so I told him at half-time to shoot low into the corner – and he did that! It was a fantastic finish.
I think he can do much better [in the future] because I see a lot of things that he can still improve and he shall improve. Only by training and by playing can you improve. Also, when you are playing at a higher level then you improve. When you are older you know all the things shall happen again. Then you have experience and you can decide much better in the same situation as before.
