Louis van Gaal was a very happy man after Manchester United clinched the FA Cup after a 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Jesse Lingard’s winner ensured that ten-men United signed off the season with silverware and the United manager said that the victory meant a lot to him personally, as he had now won the domestic cup in each of the four countries he’s coached in (Netherlands, Spain, Germany and England).
Speaking to MUTV, he said:
[It means] A lot because that was my aim. My aim was the experience of English football, English culture and to bring a title to Manchester United in spite of the transition that we have to make. I’m very happy because I’ve done it in four countries and I don’t think many other managers can say this. It [feels] unbelievable.
United had to overcome a couple of setbacks over the course of the game. Firstly, Marcos Rojo and Marcus Rashford went off injured, before Jason Puncheon put Palace in the lead with fifteen minutes remaining.
Juan Mata equalised shortly after, but the Reds had Chris Smalling sent off in extra time and it looked to be some task for United to find a winner in the game.
But Lingard’s screamer gave the Reds a 12th FA Cup success and Van Gaal admitted that the 23-year-old’s goal was special and hailed the team’s spirit in coming from behind:
Yes, it was a fantastic goal and a special moment. You don’t see them too much. I had a lucky hand I believe.
We were 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go and still we have to believe until the end. We showed your MUTV to the players [before the match]. I said we fight until the end, against the odds, never giving up. When you play with 10 against 11 it is very difficult but we did it.
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