Louis van Gaal Talks Manchester United Scoreless Run, Anthony Martial and More

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted his team's scoreless run in the Premier League is “a concern” after the goalless draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

As reported by Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, the Red Devils' scoring drought has now lasted for over five hours, and Van Gaal didn't sweep the drought under the rug, per James Tuck and Ryan Grant of the club's official website.

Asked if the lack of goals is a concern, he said:

"

Of course it is a concern. I said that after the match against Middlesbrough, when we created a lot of chances. You have to finish the chances. In the last minute of the first half, Ander Herrera could have finished it but he didn’t. I asked him and he didn’t know why, so that is a pity. But I can’t complain about the result because I don’t think we were the better team today.

"

United looked toothless and almost bored at times at Selhurst Park, and the hosts arguably had the better chances to win the match in the second half. For the third straight match, the Red Devils' defence looked excellent, but it only led to a single point.

And with rivals Manchester City and Arsenal both winning their matches on Saturday, the gap between the two league-leaders and United is suddenly four points.

Fans clearly weren't happy with what they were seeing, but per Luckhurst, Van Gaal doesn't read too much into what the fans are singing:

Anthony Martial has been one of the club's few attacking bright spots in recent weeks, but he too has struggled finding the net. Van Gaal continues to look for ways to combine both the young Frenchman and captain Wayne Rooney, and on Saturday, Martial spent much of his time playing out wide as opposed to the striker's position.

Asked where he believes Martial performs best, the Dutchman told reporters he does not know, before providing an explanation of why he's been using him in a variety of roles the past few weeks, per Bleacher Report's Paul Ansorge:

"

To clarify, said he was still a young player, had done well for us centrally but mostly played left for Monaco.

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) October 31, 2015"

Not surprisingly, the criticism of Rooney continued, and the Daily Telegraph's Jonathan Liew and Ali Tweedale had some fun at the expense of the veteran and Van Gaal's decision to move Martial out wide:

Per the club's official Twitter account, Van Gaal knows his players will have to start scoring soon:

The Red Devils will face West Bromwich Albion in Week 12 of the Premier League season, the same Baggies squad that conceded three goals at home against Leicester City. A few days earlier, United will host CSKA Moscow in the Champions League―the side they last scored against, before three consecutive scoreless draws.

Both WBA and CSKA should provide United with enough quality looks on goal―it's up to the players themselves to do better with the chances they're given. 

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