Manchester United became the third victim among the big boys of the Premier League on Wednesday, as they faltered against Middlesbrough FC in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup.
The Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal, in an interview with MUTV, expressed his regret at the profligacy of his strikers that led to game being stretched till penalty shootout before eventually bowing out of the tournament.
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a We are very disappointed. We could have finished so many of our chances so easily, and we didn’t do it, so it’s very disappointing. Last year, we were out of this cup already, in the first match, 4-0. Now we are in the final 16 and we had to win. But, okay, we were not lucky.a
Van Gaal though, was quite critical of his strikers and their inability to finish the chances, while admitting that he has problems in his hands.
a We have to solve this problem. Against Manchester City, we had more chances than City and we have to finish one of those chances. We didn’t create so much against City as we did today but we have to finish.a
Rooney Goal Drought
Van Gaala s insistence that playing Wayne Rooney through the middle may have been to infuse confidence in the England captain, but on the contrary, the goal drought and the constant media pressure seems to have gotten to Rooney.
Even the manager finally has admitted that he has a problem in his hands, which might serve as the last clarion call for Rooney before he is relegated to the bench.