Van Gaal: My strikers weren’t running in behind… but Vardy is fantastic

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted he grew frustrated by his strikers' lack of runs behind the Leicester City defence during their 1-1 draw but praised the performance of Jamie Vardy.

Wayne Rooney had not scored in three Premier League games going into the clash at the King Power Stadium and again struggled to make an impact, while Anthony Martial has not netted in the Premier League since September.

Rooney was withdrawn for Memphis Depay in the second half but Van Gaal says he might have taken off Martial had his captain not started limping.
"Wayne Rooney was limping and that is why I changed him," the Dutchman told BBC Sport . "I already wanted to change one of the strikers because they were not always running in behind.

"There were some times when if we were quick we had space to do that, but we didn't so that is why I wanted to bring Memphis in. Maybe I would have changed [Anthony] Martial [if Rooney was not injured]."

When asked about Vardy's performance and scoring record, Van Gaal enthused: "Amazing and fantastic. The goal he scored is also amazing because it is not so easy. I can say our organisation is bad, but he is provoking that also.

"It is a fantastic record to have, 11 matches in a row. Not many players will do that."