adminMANCHESTER. — Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal wanted to “kiss” Memphis Depay after he scored two goals and made another in his side’s 3-1 Champions League soccer play-off win over Club Brugge. United went behind to an eighth-minute Michael Carrick own goal in Tuesday night’s first leg at Old Trafford, but Depay scored two superb goals before teeing up substitute Marouane Fellaini for an injury-time header that put Van Gaal’s team firmly in control of the tie.
A 2-1 win would have given the Belgian side real hope of turning the tie around in Bruges next Wednesday and after seeing Depay set Fellaini up for the crucial third goal, Van Gaal declared: “I want to kiss him tonight.”
The line, however, was part of an answer in which Van Gaal explained his reluctance to single out individual players for praise and the United manager said that Depay’s true value to the squad could be seen in the example he set for his younger team-mates.
The goals were Depay’s first since his £25 million switch from PSV Eindhoven, but Van Gaal was heartened that when interviewed after the game, the 21-year-old winger had rued spurning a chance to complete his hat-trick by lifting a shot over the bar.
“He’s never satisfied. I like that,” said Van Gaal, a Champions League-winner with Ajax in 1995, who is bidding to lead United into the group phase after their first season out of the competition in 19 years.
“You have to know what you are doing and also what you can do and then your desire to improve is higher. And that’s Memphis.”
Van Gaal gave Depay his stripes at international level during his tenure as coach of the Dutch national team and he said that the forward was now a very different player.
“The Memphis of Holland was green,” Van Gaal said.
“He was like (Andreas) Pereira and Adnan (Januzaj). Pereira’s 18 years old (actually 19), but can also play in Manchester United. But you have to look for consistency in that age.
“It’s not only Adnan who has to look for that, but also Pereira and (Paddy) McNair and (Jesse) Lingard and all the players we have in this selection, and that you cannot —know as a manager. You have to show it.
“And then they shall be compared with the other players in my selection. It’s not so simple to be in the line-up.”
Meanwhile, Depay expressed a measure of relief after scoring two memorable goals and creating another as Manchester United beat Club Brugge 3-1 in Tuesday’s Champions League play-off first leg.
A £25 million signing from PSV Eindhoven, Depay arrived at Old Trafford with a burgeoning reputation and inherited the number seven shirt previously worn by club greats George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fitfully influential in his first two United appearances, he gave a shimmering display of his talent against Club Brugge with two brilliant first-half goals and a late cross to set up Marouane Fellaini as Louis van Gaal’s side took a big step towards a place in the group phase.
“I ended last season with a lot of goals. You come to a big club and you have to do a good job again. It is a nice feeling to score two goals at Old Trafford,” the 21-year-old Dutch international told BT Sport.
“It is really important we win the game. We created a lot of chances. I feel disappointed I could not finish the last two chances. We have to travel to Bruges and finish the job.”
Carrick shinned a free-kick from Victor Vazquez into his own net, but five minutes later he provided the pass that led to Depay’s first, the Dutchman flicking the ball over an opponent’s head and drilling home.
Depay put United ahead two minutes before the interval, sweeping a glorious shot inside the right-hand post from the left-hand corner of the penalty box, before teeing up Fellaini’s close-range header in stoppage time.
Carrick made way for Bastian Schweinsteiger at half-time and Van Gaal explained that the move was partly tactical and partly driven by his desire to help the Germany international build up playing time following his transfer from Bayern Munich. — AFP.
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