Derby: Second-half goals by Daley Blind and Juan Mata brought relief for manager Louis van Gaal as Manchester United overcame second-tier Derby County 3-1 in the FA Cup.
Van Gaal had admitted prior to the fourth-round tie that defeat at the iPro Stadium could cost him his job, having seen his side booed off following last weekend’s abject 1-0 loss to Southampton at Old Trafford.
But after Wayne Rooney’s superb opener had been cancelled out by George Thorne, Blind and Mata struck in clinical fashion to take United into the last 16 and ease some of the pressure on the embattled Van Gaal.
“We gave their goal away, but at halftime I said that it was a good performance, keep it up and we will win. And we did,” said Van Gaal.
“The Premier League is very important, but the FA Cup is the greatest cup in England with a long and important history. We haven’t won it for a long time so we dream of it.”
I liked the performance in the first half, it had a lot of confidence which is very important,” Gaal added.
In other matches, Nacer Chadli crowned his 100th Tottenham Hotspur appearance with a brace as his side won 4-1 at third-tier strugglers Colchester United.
Arsenal came from behind to register 2-1 win against Burnley while Manchester City thrashed Aston Villa 4-0.
