A bristling Louis van Gaal refused to answer questions about Wayne Rooney's form after Manchester United's goalless draw with Manchester City on Sunday, saying that he is "sick of them".
Rooney was close to anonymous in the 170th Manchester derby that produced the first goalless draw between the clubs for nearly five years. City's point was enough to take them back to the top of the Premier League, however.
Van Gaal again chose Rooney to play as centre-forward and Anthony Martial along the left, despite the latter's consistently impressive form. In the midweek Champions League draw at CSKA Moscow the Frenchman scored United's second-half equaliser when drifting in from the left to head home from close to the penalty shot.
Rooney had also been ineffective against the Russian team. Asked how he would rate his captain’s form, Van Gaal said: “I have to talk every week about Rooney, why?”
When it was put to him that this is because of the 30-year-old's stature in the game, Van Gaal was equally unimpressed. "Then you have to write it. It is your opinion. I don't give any more answers about Wayne Rooney. I am sick of them."
Penalty
The Dutchman believes United should have had a second-half penalty when Raheem Sterling appeared to trip Ander Herrera. The referee, Mark Clattenburg, was unmoved, however.
“I have seen on the video that it was a penalty but the referee was not giving us that benefit and of course it is difficult to see,” Van Gaal said.
“I can see it clearly on the video that he doesn’t touch the ball, but the legs of Herrera.
“That luck with decisions we don’t have this season, but I can imagine it is very difficult for the referee so it is not a big issue.”
Forced to defend
Manuel Pellegrini said his side played better in the first half before "losing too many balls" and being forced to defend after the interval. Van Gaal was clear that only his side had tried to win the game.
"Yeah, but these kind of questions, you have to ask not to me. You have to ask my colleague if Manchester United has attacked," he said of Pellegrini.
“They have the right to play compact and they have done it and they have a fantastic team also on the counterattack, but we have prevented that also in a very professional way so I cannot complain.”
Vincent Kompany was reinstated by Pellegrini after being dropped for the previous two matches after playing for Belgium in a Euro 2016 qualifying dead-rubber against Israel despite a recent calf injury.
“Everyone knows how much this game means to me,” Kompany said. “I was disappointed to be left out of the team but it is all about opinions. There is no problem with me and the manager.”
Pellegrini suggested the injured David Silva would not return for Wednesday's League Cup tie with Crystal Palace. "For the moment, no," he said. – (Guardian service)
