Angel di Maria has defended Louis van Gaal’s tactics this season, with the 3-5-2 up for plenty of criticism from fans, and claimed that the players are fighting to put United back on top.

From the start of the season to now, you can see that we’ve grown. We weren’t so great at the beginning but we’ve started getting a few victories under our belts. There are some people saying that we’re not playing in a particularly good style or that it’s not the old Manchester United – but it’s not. We’re beginning something new here. We’ve got a new style, we’ve got a new manager and we’re all working hard to make sure we’re putting Manchester United back where it belongs. We’re focusing on growing as a team,” he replied, when asked about the team’s aims. “Working hard and getting as many points as we can. We all know the Premier League is difficult but all we’re focusing on now is meeting our objectives and our targets for the year. So whether it’s qualifying for the Champions League, making sure that we do well in the FA Cup or getting as high in the league as possible, these are things we are going for now.