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West Ham logo
Premier League
Feb 8, 2015 at 4.15pm UK
 
Manchester United logo

1-1

Kouyate (49')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Blind (92')

Louis van Gaal praises "fantastic" Manchester United character

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal admits that his side's first-half performance "was not good enough" during this evening's 1-1 draw against West Ham United.

Louis van Gaal has claimed that Manchester United should have gone on to win this evening's meeting with West Ham United, praising his players for showing "fantastic spirit and character" to rescue a point late on.

The Red Devils were heading for just a second Premier League defeat in 14 outings at Upton Park, until Daley Blind struck in injury time to cancel out Cheikhou Kouyate's deflected volley in a 1-1 draw.

United struggled to find their game in a flat opening 45 minutes, and Van Gaal admits that what he saw "simply was not good enough".

"I've seen fantastic spirit and character from my team after going 1-0 behind," the Dutchman told Sky Sports News. "I told my players that and thanked them.

"The first half was not good enough, all first and second balls we lost and that's why we couldn't get out of the pressure of West Ham. In the second half we showed how good we can be in spite of all circumstances here. That's why I am happy with second half and we could have won, but you never start like that."

The draw leaves United sitting in fourth place in the Premier League table, one point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and two in front of Arsenal as the race for a Champions League berth heats up.

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David De Gea of Manchester United makes a save from Enner Valencia of West Ham during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at Boleyn Ground on February 8, 2015
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1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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