Robin van Persie defends goal celebration after Van Gaal called him 'stupid' for ripping off his shirt

Robin van Persie rips his shirt off in celebration after scoring a stoppage time equaliser against Chelsea

Robin van Persie has defended getting booked for taking off his shirt as he celebrated his dramatic last-gasp equaliser against Chelsea.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal rapped the striker, claiming he was "stupid" to collect such an unnecessary caution.

Van Persie knows he should have kept his shirt on, but says he got carried away by the emotion of his strike at the end of yesterday's 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

"I know it's one of the rules that you have to keep your shirt on, but sometimes you forget and everything comes together and the whole place explodes," he said.

"It was one of those fantastic moments and the main thing is that we got something out of this game because we deserved it.

"It was a big relief for the fans, for the players and for everyone at Manchester United that we got the goal in the end. The whole stadium exploded and it gave us a big boost."

Robin van Persie has defended getting booked for taking off his shirt as he celebrated his dramatic last-gasp equaliser against Chelsea.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal rapped the striker, claiming he was "stupid" to collect such an unnecessary caution.

Van Persie knows he should have kept his shirt on, but says he got carried away by the emotion of his strike at the end of yesterday's 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

"I know it's one of the rules that you have to keep your shirt on, but sometimes you forget and everything comes together and the whole place explodes," he said.

"It was one of those fantastic moments and the main thing is that we got something out of this game because we deserved it.

"It was a big relief for the fans, for the players and for everyone at Manchester United that we got the goal in the end. The whole stadium exploded and it gave us a big boost."

The Dutch star claims United have proved they can compete with the best ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby at the Etihad.

"We all know that this club wants to go for the highest, first place," said van Persie. "So this result showed everyone that we can compete with the best in England - I think soon with the best in Europe too.

"It's just a process and we are now in the middle of that process. It's getting better every day. We are improving all the time."