Manchester United football team manager Louis van Gaal has described his squad's 2-1 win over Liverpool as one of the most important moments in his career as Juan Mata scored twice in Sunday's Premier League win at Anfield.
Fourth-placed United went five points clear of their rivals with a narrow 2-1 win against Liverpool, thanks to Mata's brace, including a spectacular scissor kick. Daniel Sturridge struck a goal after Mata's two strikes, to help Brendan Rodgers' side avoid a 2-0 defeat.
Van Gaal said that United are playing like a team more than ever and played very good football in the first half, the BBC reported.
The victory could prove to be a significant one for United come the end of the season, and is the latest highlight in Van Gaal's career.
The former Ajax, AZ Alkmaar, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager said that Liverpool were in fantastic shape and insisted that his side beat them with their own weapons, with pressure on the ball.
Liverpool played most of the second half with 10 men after captain Steven Gerrard was shown a red card just 38 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute for stamping on Ander Herrera.
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The Dutchman said that in the second half, despite having an extra player, United lost their pressure and lost their shape, adding that they forgot to press the ball and because of that Liverpool could play more easily than the first half and that's not good.
But, Van Gaal added that the moment to win is very important, one of the most important moments in his career.
Van Gaal was also full of praise for Mata, who made his first start since January in last weekend's 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, and said that the midfielder is one of his better players, insisting that he looked for balance and now has found a position where the Spaniard plays very good and also scores two goals and marvelous goals.
