Louis van Gaal has lauded his ‘mentally tired’ Manchester United team for fighting back against West Ham at Old Trafford to earn a 1-1 draw.
The FA Cup quarter-final tie has been stretched to a replay at Upton Park, after Anthony Martial scored a late equaliser for Manchester United to earn a 1-1 draw in front of their home supporters.
The Hammers took the lead in the 68th minute when Dimitri Payet scored a sumptuous 35-yard free-kick to give the lead to the visitors, and West Ham looked to be on their way to Wembley until Martial intervened to force the tie into a replay in east London.
Van Gaal conceded that West Ham were the more enterprising team before they took the lead, but lauded his team for staging a comeback, especially after their disappointing loss at Liverpool on Thursday night in the Europa League.
He added that his team were mentally and physically drained after their Europa League adventure on Merseyside, and did well to earn a quarter-final replay against West Ham.
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The Manchester United boss told the BBC: "West Ham were the better team before they scored but then we created chances too. It was a fantastic free-kick.
"We have played a game against Liverpool on Thursday and they had the whole week to prepare and we could come back and show a big revival.
"I have to give a lot of compliments to my team.
“They were mentally tired after Liverpool and also in the body.”
Manchester United will look to salvage their European campaign on Thursday, when they host Liverpool in the second leg of their Europa League last 16 tie at Old Trafford.
They lost the away leg 2-0 at Anfield.
