Louis van Gaal has sung the praises of the players after the derby day defeat. Despite playing with ten men for an hour, United for dominated for large periods of the game, and finished the day with an impressive 48% possession of the ball.
I said to the boys their willpower and labour were unbelievable and they can be very proud. The fans know the boys are willing to give everything for the shirt of the club. But at the end of the game, we have zero points. In this sport, it is always the goals that count. We were so close in spite of playing with ten men. We had more chances [with ten men] than in the first half. We are close but not close enough. We have 13 points out of 10 matches and Chelsea have a lot more, as do Manchester City so we have a problem. We need to improve and prove that we are not close but better. We will improve, that I promise.
