Aston Villa 0 Man United 1: We’re long way off best form, admits Louis van Gaal

Louis van Gaal admitted his Manchester United side still have improvements to make after a narrow win against Aston Villa.

The Red Devils manager opted to start Adnan Januzaj ahead of former Villa winger Ashley Young and the move paid dividends after the Belgium international scored a first-half winner.

The start to the season is better than last year but that is not so difficult

Louis van Gaal

The 20-year-old picked up Juan Mata’s threaded pass before he placed a finish past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 29th minute at Villa Park.

United returned to the top of the Premier League following back-to-back wins to start the 2015/16 season, but Van Gaal felt his Red Devils side are still short of their best form.

“There is still a long way to go. You cannot expect it with only four weeks preparation. We need more matches to come into the form I think we can show,” Van Gaal told BBC Sport.

Van Gaal praised United for securing maximum points in their opening Premier League games following last season’s poor start.

“The start to the season is better than last year but that is not so difficult. We had one point at this stage and now we have six, so I am very happy,” Van Gaal added.

More: Twitter reacts to Man United’s win against Aston Villa

United face Club Brugge in the first leg of their Champions League play-off before a clash against Newcastle United at Old Trafford next Saturday.