Louis van Gaal watches Adnan Januzaj score hat-trick for Manchester United Under-21s

Belgian starred in 4-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford

Tom Sheen
Tuesday 16 September 2014 11:04 BST
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Adnan Januzaj
Adnan Januzaj (PA)

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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was at Old Trafford to see Belgian teenager Adnan Januzaj score a hat-trick for the Under-21s.

The 19-year-old played just eight minutes as a substitute in United's first win of the season against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, but staked his claim to Van Gaal to play a part against Leicester City on Saturday.

The summer arrivals of Radamel Falcao, Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera will likely see Januzaj have less game time this season under the Dutch manager than he did last year under Louis van Gaal.

The 4-0 win over Sunderland also featured Luke Shaw, who was substituted at half-time and Anderson.

Januzaj celebrates with Anderson - Luke Shaw also played in the match
Januzaj celebrates with Anderson - Luke Shaw also played in the match (PA)

After arriving for £27million from Southampton in the summer, left-back Shaw is yet to make a competitive appearance for Manchester United because of injury and fitness issues.

Shaw could make his debut at the King Power Stadium but Marcos Rojo started at left-back for Van Gaal on Sunday and performed well on debut as the United manager ditched his 3-5-2 formation in favour of a 4-4-2 diamond.

Andreas Pereira scored the other goal in the win for the Under-21s, that was also watched by assistant manager Ryan Giggs and other members of the coaching staff.

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