Van Gaal Pleased With Spirit Against Chelsea

Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United "missed a big opportunity" to beat Chelsea, despite the celebration and relief of salvaging a late point at Old Trafford thanks to Robin van Persie.

The Reds forward struck with just seconds remaining to cancel out Didier Drogba's second-half header, capping a vibrant and valiant display against Jose Mourinho's side.

Van Gaal was delighted with the response to falling behind after the break, and believes United did enough to claim all three points from the game.

"I said to the players after the game that we could have won, but that counts for nothing in sport," he told MUTV. "We created a lot of chances, but we have to finish them. Chelsea took one at the start of the second half, and we were out of the game for 10 minutes. I’m very happy that we responded after that point.

"Once again, we turned a negative result into a positive one, like we did against West Brom. I’m happy with the spirit of the team, that’s the only benefit, because I feel that we could have won the game. Chelsea are currently the best team in the league, but there are many more games to be played. We still have a chance, but I still think we missed a big opportunity to beat them today.

“I predicted it [that Chelsea might score] at half-time, because we gave corner kicks away too easily. I said during the break that Chelsea could only score against us from a set piece, and I won’t have to say that anymore because the prediction came true."

The Reds boss was also keen to stress the importance of a team performance after the game, but was delighted to see van Persie get on the scoresheet.

“I don’t want to talk about individual players," he added. "I’m very happy that he scored a goal because it was important for both him and the club. But I don’t like that he took off his shirt in celebration, because a yellow card isn’t good for us."