Van Gaal takes heart in defeat

Louis van Gaal described Manchester United's display in their 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday as their best of the season and said it gave him plenty to be optimistic about in the future.

Victory against champions and rivals Manchester City at a raucous Old Trafford last week was a performance akin to that of the glory days under Alex Ferguson and had fans optimistic of an imminent return to the top of the Premier League.

Without midfield anchorman Michael Carrick, United still had 70% of the ball against Chelsea and 15 efforts at goal compared to seven from the Londoners.

"We were the dominant team," Van Gaal told reporters after losing to a first-half breakaway goal from Belgium winger Eden Hazard. "This is an unbelievable performance.

"I am not frustrated, I am very proud of my team. We played the best match of this season but in football you can lose in spite of whether you are the better team.

"We are in a process and I see my team always growing and improving every week. It was amazing how we played here. When you see the statistics it is unbelievable the result is 1-0 but that's football," said Van Gaal.