Van Gaal: Man Utd will always beat Liverpool

Louis van Gaal says Liverpool are a "fantastic club" - because he has a 100 per cent winning record against them.

Manchester United recorded a much-needed 3-1 win over their great rivals at Old Trafford, with Anthony Martial scoring a stunner to round off proceedings.

The Frenchman came off the bench and waltzed into the box before adding to the earlier strikes from Daley Blind and Ander Herrera.

As a result, United have extended their winning run over Liverpool to three matches - all of which under the reign of Van Gaal.

And after the match, he was clearly in a jovial mode as he chirped: "For me, Liverpool is a fantastic club. Because I have won every game against Liverpool."

Van Gaal insisted that he was "very happy" with the way the game panned out, after taking the lead just minutes after the break.

United and Liverpool played out a turgid first half but the Dutchman removed Memphis Depay from the field in what proved to be a masterstroke.

Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: "We played better in the first half. We had far more control, but we didn't create much, that is why I changed Memphis - to improve that last pass.

"I am very happy with the first goal because that is what we practised in many training sessions and now it is coming out. The first goal decided the match because they had to come at us, giving us more space and so we could score more.

"The penalty was fantastic and then the goal of Anthony Martial, not a bad goal I think.

And Van Gaal confirmed his delight at Martial's performance, saying that he proved that he is ready for the rough and tumble of the league.

"He did alright. He scored a marvellous goal and physically he can play in the Premier League."