Louis van Gaal: Manchester United "mentally tired' in quarter-final tie

Louis van Gaal has claimed that he is more than happy to have seen Manchester United earn a replay against West Ham United due to the 'mental fatigue' in his side.

The Red Devils had Anthony Martial to thank for rescuing a 1-1 draw in Sunday evening's FA Cup quarter-final tie at Old Trafford, having earlier fallen behind to Dimitri Payet's stunning free kick.

Despite failing to get the job done on home soil, Van Gaal insists that he is happy with the result following his side's quick turnaround in fixtures from the midweek loss to Liverpool in Europe.

"West Ham were the better team before they scored but then we created chances too," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "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. It was a fantastic match between two good sides and I am very happy that my team showed their spirit after a nasty week."

United trail Liverpool 2-0 in their Europa League tie heading into next Thursday's return leg.