Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace: Louis Van Gaal and Neil Warnock Reaction

Louis Van Gaal's stuttering Manchester United team scraped a hard-fought 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. The winner came courtesy of forgotten midfield maestro Juan Mata.

Van Gaal was proud of his team's efforts to break down a stubborn Crystal Palace team determined to defend in numbers, per the club's official Twitter account:

Given his own team's recent defensive issues, Van Gaal also praised United's concentration at the back:

Van Gaal continued his glowing report of United's makeshift defence. With Chris Smalling suspended and Marcos Rojo injured, Patrick McNair and Daley Blind formed United's centre-back pairing.

Their performances pleased Van Gaal, according to BBC Sport:

"

They [McNair and Blind in defence] didn't have to defend too much because we always had the ball. They only had to defend the long balls but that is difficult because Chamakh and Campbell are strong headers of the ball.

Paddy McNair is not injured. It was cramp. It is [recent injury problems] crazy but it is what I have to deal with.

"

The Dutch boss also praised Mata's decisive contribution, per Squawka Football:

Mata has been marginalised following the arrival of Angel Di Maria this summer. In fact, the Spanish creative ace has struggled to live up to his reputation and talent since signing for United in January.

But the former Valencia and Chelsea star is too good to stay floundering for long. Perhaps this winning goal will spark a revival in Mata's form.

As for Palace, boss Neil Warnock wished he had the attacking reserves Van Gaal is able to call on. His struggling side are currently finding goals hard to come by.

Warnock bemoaned the missed chance Van Gaal referenced, as well as his side's lack of quality in possession, per BBC Sport:

"

We are having that kind of spell at the minute, nothing going right for us. If Fraizer Campbell had scored that chance he had it would have put a lot of pressure on them, but it was not to be. I thought the referee did well today, I am just disappointed to concede the goal. I think Julian Speroni will have been disappointed.

It is hard at times for a lot of clubs at this level but you just have to keep going. I can't criticise the lads today. The passing was poor at times, though, we made some bad decisions with the ball.

"

Currently languishing in 17th place on just nine points, per PremierLeague.com, Warnock knows his team needs to find more efficiency in forward areas. That's the only way to reverse a slide of four defeats in the last five games.

Things look a little more positive for United, even if this performance was far from impressive. Van Gaal believes the win keeps United on course to achieve this season's goals, per Manchester Evening News reporter Rob Dawson:

Although Van Gaal was oblique about what exactly United's goals are this season, finishing in the top four and returning to the UEFA Champions League has to be the minimum requirement.

Moving up to just two points off fourth makes this is an excellent day for Van Gaal and the Red Devils.