There were few complaints when the Manchester United boss yoinked the former Real Madrid winger off.
United struggled to break down Sunderland at Old Trafford, this afternoon, and van Gaal’s solution was to withdraw di Maria at half-time.
The Argentine, purchased for €70m (£62m) last autumn, has struggled in United red of late. He had a positive impact in his first two months but has looked a shadow of his former self in recent months.
This is the best di Maria could muster today. SportsJOE is still searching for footage of the woefully misplaced pass to Radamel Falcao, when Ashley Young was standing unmarked, in the box, to his left.
Speaking following his side’s 2-0 win over the Black Cats, van Gaal backed up his use of the shepherd’s hook.
‘I want to win,’ he reasoned. ‘I have to observe and analyse. We were better in the second half so I cannot say it was the wrong decision.
‘We have to give di Maria time to adapt and lift his confidence again. He’s a human being and makes mistakes like everyone else.’
Van Gaal also weighed in on Wayne Rooney’s brace of goals and gave another insight into his omnipotent presence at the club. This week: penalty-taking tips.
‘I’m always happy when a player is scoring. And I’m happy he scored twice.
‘He’s the second penalty-taker behind van Persie. Normally I tell him to shoot high on penalties but he said he shot low because of the goalkeeper’s height.’
When the BBC asked the Dutchman about the murmurs of discontent about Old Trafford, during the first half, he responded, ‘I didn’t hear that. Maybe your hearing is better than mine.’
