Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has tried to play down the significance of their clash against Liverpool in the Europa League round-of-sixteen this Thursday, according to reports from the Daily Mail.
The Dutchman may have been struggling with the Red Devils this season, but he will happy of his record against United’s arch rivals from Merseyside, with his tally reading five wins out of five against the Reds.
And Van Gaal will be hoping to extend his fine run when the two clubs meet once again this week, with the clash being the first time that Man United and Liverpool have met in a European competition.
However, ‘LVG’ has attempted to play down the rivalry, saying that a win over Liverpool is the same as if they were to beat West Bromwich Albion.
“For me it is I want to win every game and when I lose I am very disappointed. You can see that in my body language. It is very expressive. It is good United have beaten Liverpool so many times.
“It is also good for me because when I beat teams like Liverpool then the appreciation is higher and bigger from the fans, so I hope we shall beat them for the fifth time but more for the fans than myself. We prepare ourselves to beat the opponent.
“It is big that we have lost to West Brom but if we win against Liverpool I am not more happy than if we had won against West Brom.
“For the fans and the environment it is big, but for me we have to win every game. If we had won against West Brom I’d have been very pleased.”
Despite this, Van Gaal admits that it is an important game for the supporters, especially with his experience managing the likes Barcelona vs. Real Madrid or Bayern Munich vs. Dortmund.
“Football in England is very deep in the lives of people,” he added. “I noticed that also in Spain and in Germany it was less than here. It is fantastic to see that.
“It is also one aspect as to why I came here to have that experience. You can see the heart of the club and the feeling that they are with you every game. It is nice for the players and nice for the manager.”
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