Louis Van Gaal Talks Ander Herrera, Wayne Rooney After Man United Beat Everton

Louis van Gaal reserved special praise for Ander Herrera after the influential midfielder inspired Manchester United to a 3-0 Premier League win over hosts Everton at Goodison Park.

Herrera scored United's second goal, a finish bracketed by strikes from Morgan Schneiderlin and Wayne Rooney. Van Gaal lauded the former's return to form, while also confidently predicting next week's derby meeting against table-toppers Manchester City.

After handing Basque playmaker Herrera a rare start, Van Gaal singled out the man who also laid on Rooney's goal, per United's official Twitter feed:

It's a continued mystery why Herrera isn't involved more often. This season, the former Athletic Bilbao man has made just five stars across all competitions, according to WhoScored.com.

Yet despite the timely reminder of his quality he offered against the Toffees, Van Gaal insisted Herrera's future participation is still not guaranteed, as noted by Manchester Evening News reporter James Robson:

United certainly have plenty of options in midfield. Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Marouane Fellaini give Van Gaal ample tough calls to make. But none of that quartet are as creative and forward-thinking as Herrera.

When he turned his attentions to Rooney, Van Gaal expressed his hope the strike will spark a return to his prolific best for the England man:

It helped that Van Gaal let Rooney play more centrally against Everton. The player who has been shunted wide or deeper into midfield by many managers always looks most comfortable and effective as a centre-forward.

Embarking on a new scoring run won't be easy given how long Rooney was left waiting for this goal, per OptaJoe:

Yet there's no doubt United are a stronger side when Rooney is at his best. Van Gaal will be hoping he is when the Red Devils meet City at Old Trafford next week.

The United gaffer already sounds confident enough about knocking the Reds' neighbours off top spot in England's top flight, according to Sunday World's Kevin Palmer:

Beating in-form City is a daunting task, but Van Gaal's men at least made a positive statement about their title credentials at Goodison Park.

City have had the better of recent derbies, but if United can find some consistency to build on this result, Van Gaal may well prove as good as his word.