Lakshay Khurana
Manchester United seem to have already bid goodbye to the top four spot, which means the 20-time English champions won’t be playing in the Champions League next season. Under these unlucky state of affairs, the injury-hit team is finding it visibly difficult to even go up against smaller clubs in all competitions.
Louis Van Gaal is doing everything that he can with the available choices he has. The Dutch boss is forced to start youth players in big matches, as half of his team is still struggling their way out of injuries. Despite all this, Van Gaal has been able to put a great display on pitch many times this year.
He has been able to work his team like champions with his tactics and his experience to develop young players.
Both the club and fans are waiting for the first-team players to make their return and get back on with the winning ways.
Here we look at the strongest starting XI under Van Gaal:
FORMATION- 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper:
DAVID DE GEA
The Spanish keeper has been an obvious first choice for Manchester United since his arrival at the club. The keeper has failed to disappoint at any occasion and has always given his best. The No.1 has played a key role in many victories with his match-saving reflexes and his ability to save shots off his foot.
DEFENDERS:
MATTEO DARMIAN, CHRIS SMALLING, DAILEY BLIND, LUKE SHAW
United’s defence was started being criticised by the fans soon after Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra departed from the club. But now the United squad seems to have some brilliant defenders.
Matteo Darmian is a solid signing at the right-back, providing pace and steadiness at the right flank in both attacking and defending.
Chris Smalling has emerged as the main centre defender after struggling to fight for his position since his arrival in 2010. His height and strength makes it difficult for any player to get past him or even win a header.
Dailey Blind has shown he can not only play as a central defensive midfielder but also left back and centre defence. His awareness and composure as a centre back has helped United in crucial times. The Dutch international has shown that he can easily replace Rojo and Phil Jones for the centre back spot.
Luke Shaw is the defender who can make a difference in the result of the match. The young English player is probably the fastest on the team and is able to run lengths of field assisting in attacks and providing decent crosses throughout the 90 minutes.
MIDFIELDERS:
SCHNEIDERLIN, SCHWEINSTEIGER, MATA, DEPAY, ROONEY
It can be seen that Bastian Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin will me doing more or less the same shielding role, and providing long passes up the field to create counter attacks.
Mata and Depay can play at right and left flanks, respectively. Both the players can dribble past defenders and are good at taking shots outside the box. Mata can provide better crosses than anyone on the team from his side while Depay can dribble past players to avoid aerial attacks and get inside the box and create tap-in chance for the player ahead.
Wayne Rooney can stick to his central attacking midfield role by controlling the tempo of the game and providing accurate passes to the player playing ahead of him. The skipper isn’t afraid to take long shots either.
ATTACKER:
ANTHONY MARTIAL
If not Wayne Rooney, then the second choice that comes to mind for the striker role is the French trickster. Martial, the recipient of the 2015 Golden Boy Award for the best under-21 player in Europe lacks the needed experience but not the skills or will. The 20-year-old forward is able to get past defenders and finish the ball smoothly at the back of the net. The upcoming French star has been able to show that several times in his professional career for both AS Monaco and Manchester United.
