Louis van Gaal has poured praise on Anthony Martial following his match-winning performance in a 2-1 FA Cup semi-final victory over Everton on Saturday, but cooled talk that the Frenchman can become a lethal striker in the shape of an Andy Cole or Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Manchester United were well on top of Everton in the first half of the semi-final at Wembley and took the lead in the 34th minute through Marouane Fellaini, who converted from close range.




Everton grew into the game from the start of the second half and won a penalty in the 57th minute, but David de Gea saved Romelu Lukaku's spot-kick.

The Toffees would draw level though and with 15 minutes left a cross put in from Gerard Deulofeu was turned into his own net by Red Devils defender Chris Smalling.
 


It seemed the FA Cup semi-final was heading for a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes, but a superb Martial run and finish in injury time booked a 2-1 win for Van Gaal's men and a final spot.

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Van Gaal was keen to pay tribute to the Frenchman and said via his club's site: "He could have scored in the first half when he was in the same situation, so I told him at half-time to shoot low into the corner – and he did that! It was a fantastic finish.

"I think he can do much better [in the future] because I see a lot of things that he can still improve and he shall improve. Only by training and by playing can you improve.

"Also, when you are playing at a higher level then you improve. When you are older you know all the things shall happen again. Then you have experience and you can decide much better in the same situation as before."

But Van Gaal does not see Martial turning into a cold-blooded, prolific goalscorer like Cole and Van Nistelrooy.

"I don't think that he is a striker; he is more of a wing player, but maybe in the future", the Dutchman explained.

"But I don't think so – he is a different type of player to Van Nistelrooy and the other examples of United strikers."