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Louis van Gaal explains the tactical rationale behind taking Matteo Darmian off at half-time

Published 14:39 21 Sept 2015 BST

Darragh Murphy
Louis van Gaal explains the tactical rationale behind taking Matteo Darmian off at half-time

Homesport

Problem spotted, problem solved.

Louis van Gaal has revealed just why he decided to give Matteo Darmian only 45 minutes of action during Manchester United's 3-2 victory over Southampton on Sunday. With the game finely poised at 1-1, the Dutchman felt that the Italian right-back wasn't covering Saints midfielder Dusan Tadic enough in the first half so switched things up at the break. Manchester United v Cambridge United - FA Cup Fourth Round Replay "He gave too much space to Tadic in my opinion," Van Gaal said. "So that's why I brought on Valencia. "I didn't see Tadic in the second half, did you? It was a tactical change because Tadic had a lot of space and was very dangerous for us. "I wanted to eliminate that with Valencia and he did that very well I think."