• West Brom 2-2 Manchester United

Van Gaal left disappointed despite bright United showing

Louis van Gaal does not believe 12 points from eight matches is good enough © Getty Images

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Louis van Gaal claimed the 2-2 draw with West Brom was Manchester United's best performance of the season and said he was confident his players are buying into his philosophy.

West Brom twice led, first through Stephane Sessegnon and then Saido Berahino in the 66th minute. Marouane Fellaini - a half-time substitute - cancelled out the first before Daley Blind salvaged a point with an 88th minute equaliser. Van Gaal's side have now not won on the road for eight games.

A bittersweet night for Fellaini

• Marouane Fellaini was happy at breaking his Manchester United duck in the 2-2 draw with West Ham, but now believes the upcoming clash with Chelsea is a must-win game.
• "I don't think it was a good result for us because the next two games will be difficult," Fellaini told BBC Sport. "The manager asked me to put pressure on the box and to keep fighting. I did and I managed to score.
• "In the second half, the style was more aggressive and we looked better. I have waited a long time to score my first goal and I hope to score more goals for Manchester United.
• "We offered too much space in defence but next week is a big game and we have to learn to focus for the whole game. We know we have a problem with the balance between defence and attack but we play and train all day to get better.
• "It is a big game for us [against Chelsea] and we have to win. I am determined to get things right - that's why we play football."

"I'm very disappointed because we played our best match of the season and the result is not good enough," Van Gaal said. "I think we could have won but that doesn't count in our world so that's why I'm disappointed.

"I also have to be happy because we created a lot of chances and only two shots from West Bromwich Albion turned into goals. We gave it away because of our individual errors and that's a pity.

"I've seen on the training ground now that we are better, the players understand the formation more and I've seen it today which is why it's such a pity we didn't get the result we deserved."

Van Gaal brought on Marouane Fellaini to replace Ander Herrera at half-time, but said he made the decision after only a few minutes of the match.

"Herrera has played a normal game, not very good but normal, but we have to look also for physical talents and maybe that's our problem,'' he said. "I'm a coach who is always thinking about creative players but in England you also need physical bodies in your team and Fellaini is one of these."

But while he pointed to progress tactically, Van Gaal admitted his team's return of 12 points from eight matches was not good enough.

"It's not too good I believe because I think when we see the games normally we are the better team,'' he said. "When you have 12 points out of eight in my opinion it is eight points too few."

Marouane Fellaini scored his first Manchester United goal in the 2-2 draw with West Brom © Getty Images

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