For the first half an hour of Manchester United's game against Chelsea, Old Trafford was treated to the kind of attacking performance too often lacking this season. Statistics show that United drew a home match 0-0 for the sixth time this season and that the team are four points off fourth position and nine off the top of a league they led a month ago, but fans left in a happier mood than they'd arrived, when talk of Van Gaal being dismissed dominated.
United’s four game losing streak is over and while it’s now eight games since they triumphed – their worst run of matches since 1989/90 – Louis van Gaal lives to fight another day as boss. His team played with an attacking intent seldom seen this season and hit the post twice in the first half. Such has been the barren run, these improvements seem significant.
Read more: Richard Jolly on Manchester United showing a faint flicker of hope for Louis van Gaal
Looking tired after the game at Stoke, the Dutchman recovered some of his verve by the time he spoke to journalists after the Chelsea match.
“I’m frustrated that we didn’t score,” he said of another goalless draw. “We have dominated the game with 70 per cent (of possession), we have created chances, we have shots on the goal, with the goalkeeper beaten and then post and inside post.”
He was referring to a first half when United did what their fans have been asking for most of the season – played attacking football and give the opposing goalkeeper something to do.
Juan Mata’s second minute strike struck the bar and set the tempo for an impressive opening. Morgan Schneiderlin’s ninth minute shot rasped wide of Thibaut Courtois’ goal, prompting chants of ‘Louis van Gaal’s red and white army’. Online, United fans demand change. In real life at matches, they’re behind their manager and the noise picked up further when Anthony Martial’s shot struck the inside of the post after 28 minutes.
“When you attack like us, you have a big space behind your defence standing in the middle,” said Van Gaal of the change in tactics, surely brought about because of complaints from fans and players. “That’s the risk we have taken.”
Fans were happy for them to take that risk and Van Gaal also pointed out two penalties which weren’t given.
“We don’t forget the two penalty cases,” he said. “One was a foul on Mata, the other the handball of Willian. It was not on purpose but you see the hand going to the ball and not the ball going to the hand.”
Without a natural striker and playing Eden Hazard alone up front, Chelsea had the game’s best chance through Nemanja Matic, but United were the better team.
“You can always say we are unlucky, but when you say that as a manager too much it is not only luck,” said Van Gaal. “I think we were unlucky today.”
Van Gaal spoke to assembled press for 11 minutes after the match. His English is imperfect and he’s not happy about how his views are interpreted by the media. At times, he appears to contradict himself and talk in a barely decipherable code which only he can understand. It’s endearing when his side are winning, dangerous for him in the media when they don’t. He’s not got the diplomatic skills of the more urbane Guus Hiddink, but he does things his way and, at 64, he’s proud of that and not going to change.
His side have suffered a wretched December, eliminated from the Champions League and with the worst form in the league, yet not without reason Van Gaal thinks he’s maintained the support of the match going fans.
“The fans have supported us very much,” he said. “That was also against Norwich City when the result was very bad. Now, most of the fans are applauding after this disappointing result but they like the performance.”
Van Gaal feels that the club have confidence in him, something he’s not had at every club he’s worked at. He compared it to the support he had at AZ in the Netherlands, but admitted: “I know there are circumstances that the board has to sack the manager. In this crazy world, this football world, that can happen every day.”
He’s convinced he’s staying at manager and after a draw which gave him reason to be positive, he appears right.
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