Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal believes that Liverpool could still finish fourth in the Premier League.
United were thumped 3-0 by Roberto Martinez’s Everton on Sunday afternoon to see Van Gaal suffer back-to-back defeats for the first time in charge at Old Trafford.
The result gives Brendan Rodgers’ side a possible chance of overtaking their rivals as we approach the final games of the season and Van Gaal believes that is a possibility.
Asked by reporters if Liverpool were back in contention, he said: “Yes, I have said the same words to the players: ‘You give the light to your opponents.’”
“We have always had more fighting spirit on the pitch and I think that this is the first match that the other team have shown more of that than us,” he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
“We created five chances in the first half – Marouane Fellaini had to score – that is more than Everton. In the second half they scored on the counter and we had to play against a defensive side.
“This was the first match when I saw a team that was more motivated and aggressive than us. It is not good, but we are human beings. We have to see that our opponents will defend more and cope with that as a club. Everton deserved to win – when the result is fair, you can live with it.”