Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal feels that his side were outfought by Everton at Goodison Park today and believes it is the first time in his tenure in charge he has seen that happen.
Everton allowed Manchester United to enjoy more of the ball, but were lethal on the counter attack and took the Red Devils apart, with goals from James McCarthy, John Stones and Kevin Mirallas leading to a 3-0 win.
With last weekend's defeat at Chelsea, Manchester United have now lost two games on the spin. But what concerned Van Gaal the most was a lack of fighting spirit.
He was quoted as saying by the BBC: "We have always had more fighting spirit on the pitch and I think that this is the first match that the other team have shown more of that than us.
"We created five chances in the first half – Marouane Fellaini had to score – that is more than Everton. In the second half they scored on the counter and we had to play against a defensive side", Van Gaal continued.
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"This was the first match when I saw a team that was more motivated and aggressive than us. It is not good, but we are human beings.
"We have to see that our opponents will defend more and cope with that as a club. Everton deserved to win – when the result is fair, you can live with it."
Manchester United almost scored a consolation late on, but Radamel Falcao saw his strike ruled out for offside.
The defeat leaves Manchester United sitting fourth in the Premier League standings, with Van Gaal's side having missed the chance to jump above city rivals Manchester City.
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