Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has played down the Red Devils chances of challenging the Premier League title after watching his side record a 1-1 draw and drop two points at Aston Villa on Saturday.
United were in hot pursuit of local rivals Manchester City, who are currently second in the Premier League, following a six-match winning streak in the Premier League, but the Red Devils' draw at Villa and City's 3-0 win against Crystal Palace means that the gap between the two sides has now increased to seven points.
And now as Chelsea, who are due to play on Monday, have a chance to put a 10-point gap between themselves and the United, van Gaal admits that his side's chances of challenging for the title are pretty thin.
"We drop two points [but] we were the better team," van Gaal told ESPN. "That's frustrating when you're better and you don't win. When you want to be a part of the title race, you have to win these games."
The former Netherlands boss feels that his side lacked aggressiveness against Villa Darren Fletcher in place of Michael Carrick.
"I think also that we were not so aggressive in first half as we are usual, we kept the ball much better, but we didn't create so much because we were not looking to the forwards. That's why I changed [Darren] Fletcher for [Michael] Carrick, because I know he's more a passer to the forwards.
"It was not good enough to catch the victory here. We were not creative enough in the second half. We didn't pass the ball as good in the first half but had more aggression, so that was a plus, I think."
Finally, van Gaal said that Ramadel Falcao will still have to fight for his place in the starting line-up even though he managed to find the nets in first game for United since October.
"It was a beautiful goal," van Gaal added. "I liked him today. I'm very happy for him. And I am always happy when United scores. I have to compare every week. There's always a question, for every player, not only Falcao."
