English football correspondent
MANCHESTER // Louis van Gaal said he was sick of answering questions about Wayne Rooney and that Manchester United should have had a penalty in a derby stalemate.
The Dutchman felt that Ander Herrera was tripped by Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling when referee Mark Clattenburg only opted to award United a corner.
“We don’t have the luck,” Van Gaal said. “Because I have seen on the video that it was a penalty on Herrera but the referee was not giving us that benefit. It is difficult to see. I can see it clearly on the video that he [Sterling] doesn’t touch the ball but the legs of Herrera.”
Rooney, who has only scored twice in his last 15 league games, cut an ineffectual figure the day after his 30th birthday.
His form has been a regular talking point this season, with many questioning if the captain still merits a place in the United team, but the whole saga has become a frustration to Van Gaal.
“I don’t give any more answers about Wayne Rooney,” he said. “I am sick of them.”
His side did not record a shot on target until the 82nd minute and later hit the bar through Jesse Lingard, but Van Gaal said they ought to have scored.
“We have to score also the three chances, Lingard and [Chris] Smalling two times,” Van Gaal said. “I was surprised Lingard could do that because it was a very difficult situation for him. He did it remarkably well.”
The Manchester United manager had no complaints about City’s defensive tactics but the leaders’ manager, Manuel Pellegrini, admitted he did not enjoy them.
“I prefer to play in another way but we defended well,” he said. “Unfortunately for the fans it was not a very attractive game. We are two creative teams but we could not do it.
“If you can’t win, then don’t lose it. People have said that we can’t defend and in the second half we did very well. We lost so much possession of the ball and we had to concentrate. United had two late chances but overall it was close. I am satisfied with a point but I don’t like to play this way.”
City captain Vincent Kompany accepted it was far less entertaining than many of their previous clashes, saying: “I don’t know how it looked from the outside but it didn’t feel like a dynamic derby. Both teams looked defensively solid.”
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