Louis van Gaal believes 'it's always better to play in the Champions League'

Speaking ahead of Manchester United's Premier League fixture against West Brom, manager Louis van Gaal spoke of how he believes a positive result can kickstart a title challenge from his side.

When van Gaal was managing Bayern Munich in 2009, the German club defeated Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League, sparking a turnaround that led to Bayern reaching the final of European football's most prestigious competition and also winning the DFP-Pokal.

With United having missed out on the Champions League for the first time in 19 years, Van Gaal obviously doesn't have the luxury of kickstarting a solid campaign in the tournament, meaning matches like Monday's game against West Brom are almost just as important.

"When you can play the Champions League, especially the Champions League but also the Europa League, you can compare yourselves as a team with the better players, with a high level," Van Gaal said. "I have also a philosophy when I was a technical director of the (Holland) Federation I gave structure to the youth education that the better players have to play against the better players. Then you get development of your players because they are playing better opponents.

"When you are in the Champions League and it's going well and you beat opponents, you are coming in a flow and then it's not so bad to play all the matches. Maybe in my first year I have more chances to train with my players. That is probably better than all the matches maybe. 

"But at the end of this it's always better to play in the Champions League and all the cups and play all the matches because you can compare yourself with higher-level opponents."

(H/T: the Guardian)