Angel Di Maria Slammed by Louis Van Gaal After Manchester United vs. Palace

Louis van Gaal has accused Angel Di Maria of failing to stick to Manchester United's game plan during Saturday's 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, after the Argentinian posted a disappointing display in front of the Old Trafford crowd.

The manager, who packed the midfield to aid United's defensive efforts against Neil Warnock's side, believes Di Maria needed to play less selfishly on the left wing, as reported David McDonnell of the Mirror:

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Sometimes you cannot dribble, so you have to make it a passing game, and Di Maria is not a player who wants to give a pass every time he gets the ball. But in this case we needed that and not dribbles. Therefore he lost the ball a lot and that was not good for the balance of the team.

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Di Maria has excited United supporters since arriving from Real Madrid for £59.7 million in the summer. He has three goals and five assists in nine matches, per WhoScored.com, contributing to 47 per cent of the Red Devils' total Premier League goals this season. He assisted Juan Mata's winner with a simple lay-off on Saturday, but in truth, he was far from his best.

He completed just 81.8 per cent of his passes, the lowest of any outfield United starter. None of his 12 crosses found a man, illustrated by Squawka:

While all four of Di Maria's dribbles were successful, he hit the target with just one of his six shots, noted by WhoScored.com. B/R UK's Rob Blanchette offered a possible reason as to why the Argentinian failed to find his best form:

Despite the disappointment, there's no doubt United have picked up arguably the signing of the summer. A fully fit and functioning squad would provide Van Gaal with the luxury of pushing Di Maria central, but the side's frustrating injury problems at present limit the systems the Dutch manager can deploy.

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A packed midfield barely stopped Palace creating chances, and if Fraizer Campbell had finished his first-half opportunity, significant questions would have been raised over United's prospects once more. The performance was below that seen during the draw against Chelsea, but the weekend's results ended up providing the side with a major boost.

United are just one point behind Arsenal heading into their Emirates Stadium clash on Nov. 22. Di Maria is expected to lead United's charge during a north London battle that will see Danny Welbeck face Van Gaal's team for the first time since his summer departure.

Presuming some of United's unfit players will return after the international break is a risky game this season, but one would expect the boss should have greater options than Paddy McNair (who posted another assured display against Palace) and Daley Blind at centre-back during what should be a highly charged match. Di Maria, even if he isn't pushed into the middle against the Gunners, will be vital to the team's chances of success.