Van Gaal salutes United's dominant display in defeat

By Tom Hayward LONDON(Reuters) - 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. A 4-2 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. The resurgent Reds arrived at Stamford Bridge having won six successive league matches to leapfrog City into third spot and, although their victorious run ended at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s side, there were plenty of positives for Dutch coach Van Gaal. United were unrecognisable from the team that struggled badly after Ferguson's retirement two years ago and dominated possession against runaway leaders Chelsea. Without midfield anchorman Michael Carrick they still had 70 percent of the ball 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. "It is a pity when you play so well. I have very disappointed players and I am very disappointed but I see that we are improving every week and when you can play at Chelsea like this, as the dominant team, I am very happy with that." (Editing by Tony Jimenez)