Chelsea vs Manchester United: Keys match stats and numbers after United play 'best game of the season' but lose

In his intense post-match interview with the BBC, Louis van Gaal claimed Manchester United "played the best match of the season" in defeat to Chelsea.

Whilst not everyone will agree with the Dutchman that the performance was better than any other this season, many would argue United were the dominant team at Stamford Bridge and at least deserved something from the game. Wayne Rooney told MUTV: "I thought it was excellent, we dominated from start to finish".

So here, we take a look at the statistics to see if they back up that view...

SHOTS

Chelsea: 7

Manchester United: 15

SHOTS ON TARGET

Chelsea: 2

Manchester United: 2

CORNERS

Chelsea: 3

Manchester United: 7

THROW-INS

Chelsea: 9

Manchester United: 23

POSSESSION

Chelsea: 33 per cent

Manchester United: 67 per cent

PASSES

Chelsea: 284

Manchester United: 665

DRIBBLES

Chelsea: 19

Manchester United: 24

INTERCEPTIONS

Chelsea: 8

Manchester United: 18

CLEARANCES

Chelsea: 30

Manchester United: 24

TOUCHES

Chelsea: 435

Manchester United: 837

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Despite appearing to dominate most stats, as Van Gaal said after the match: "In football it's only counting the goals and they scored one goal."

GOALS

Chelsea: 1

Manchester United: 0