Louis van Gaal slammed Chris Smalling and labelled him “stupid” his red card for Manchester United against Manchester City on Sunday.
The England international was booked twice, charging down Joe Hart and hacking down James Milner and his boss has had no compassion for the defender, saying his red card was ‘stupid’.
“In a derby you have to be careful – the second yellow card is a stupid yellow card,” Van Gaal told BBC Sport.
“The sending off is not one of those things. As a player you have to control your aggression. I didn’t see the first yellow but with the second, you know you already have a yellow, so have to handle it differently. I said that to the players.”
The result sees United remain on 13 points from a possible 30, but Dutch coach Van Gaal believes that his side can become as good as City and league leaders Chelsea.
“We are very close. You saw it against Chelsea and now against Manchester City. They are the two best clubs in this league and the difference is zero I think.”