Wayne Rooney 'wanted to play 90 minutes' for Man United - Van Gaal
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal admitted that Wayne Rooney was upset at being taken off in the 1-0 win against Aston Villa, after his first start for the first-team in more than two months.
Rooney, 30, has recently recovered from a knee problem and started the game playing behind striker Marcus Rashford, but both men were substituted in the second half.
The England striker was withdrawn after 67 minutes and Rashford -- who scored the winning goal in the 32nd minute -- went off 10 minutes after Rooney. However, Van Gaal admitted that he was even doubting whether Rashford should play or not.
"I have doubted a long time. He is also young and has played several matches," he added. "At the end, I didn't want to do that because I want to take profit of his momentum. He was very positive about playing -- he said he was fit to play. I thought I can change him before the end.
"It's the same for Rooney. He wanted to play 90 minutes but you could see he was losing balls in the second half, which he wasn't losing in the first half, when he was very good. The goal was also more or less his goal [due to his contribution in the build-up].
"It's a good spirit when you want to play 90 minutes, but you have to know the rhythm of the Premier League is high and you cannot build up your capacity in three days' training sessions."
Van Gaal praised both men for the goal that United scored -- and also Antonio Valencia, who produced the assist for Rashford.
The Dutchman said: "The goals was superb; the switch of the play by Rooney, the run to the first post of Rashford and then he held back -- and Valencia had to see that. He did and gave the pass at the right time. It's a marvellous goal."
The United manager admitted that there needs to be more excitement delivered by his players though, saying: "I agree we have to give more entertainment for the fans. The most important thing was to win the game. Of course, it was not the best match of Man United this season."
When asked by ESPN FC if Anthony Martial was being rested due to the schedule, Van Gaal replied: "Yes. Also, Martial is young and has played many matches. Of course, it is dependent on the situation if I can change players. [Chris] Smalling and [Daley] Blind have played all the games recently, but I cannot change them so they have to play."
Arindam is ESPN FC's Manchester United correspondent. Follow him @ARejSport
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