Anthony Martial criticised for 'stupid reaction' by Man United boss in Champions League

Martial celebrates scoring (left) after his earlier hand ball (right) frustrates manager Van Gaal

ANTHONY MARTIAL was slammed for a “stupid reaction” by Louis van Gaal despite earning Manchester United a valuable Champions League point in a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

 

Martial handled to give away the penalty from which CSKA took the lead but atoned for his mistake with his fifth goal in nine games for United.

Van Gaal said: “Martial is a human being. He reacts and it is a stupid reaction, but sometimes these things happen.

“He said it is the first time it has happened to him – if it always happens with me it’s a pity. But I was very happy with the team performance.

“I knew in advance that it would be a very difficult game because CSKA are very well organised and compact.

 

“They also had the present of the Martial penalty, so it was more difficult for us because they could play more compactly.

“The tempo was too slow in my opinion. I said at half-time that we had to improve our tempo and switch the game from side to side.

“We did that better in the second half. We created more chances and could have won, but I think it is a deserved draw.

 

Morgan Schneiderlin praised Martial for not letting the incident affect him mentally.

The midfielder said: “Anthony didn’t let his head go down, which can happen after a penalty, and he scored a great goal.

“Then we pushed on and gave everything and could not get the second goal, which was a shame.”

 

Anthony Martial celebrates scoring United's equaliser after 65 minutes

United are now second in Group B with four points with back-to-back home games to come.

Van Gaal added: “Now we have two home matches and you can say we are very strong at home. I hope we can win these games so we are nearly qualified or qualified.

“We are now on schedule after the PSV Eindhoven defeat, which was a very strange defeat for us. I cannot complain about the spirit of my team.

“We were 1-0 behind after a present of a goal, against a very organised team. But I only saw spirit towards the end and I am very proud of my players.”

 

David De Gea failed to stop Seydou Doumbia converting the rebound