“The difference is not the level of the performance. It’s how to finish the game. And Chelsea has done that the best.”
Louis Van Gaal takes no consolation from the fact that Manchester United have had the better of most of their battles with big-club rivals this season.
“No, because we are not Champions,” he says.
“Of course, we have improved a lot but then you see the way Chelsea can play and finish off games.
“That we have to learn still because that’s the big difference between us and Chelsea.
“I also think that Arsenal maybe have a better team than Chelsea, but they cannot finish like Chelsea.
“That’s talent and experience. They are different, I think.”
Van Gaal finishes his home programme against Arsenal this afternoon with the main job complete qualification for the Champions League.
Over the season, United have done the double over Liverpool, taken four points from Spurs, shared a victory apiece with Manchester City and beaten the Gunners at The Emirates.
Only the Champions have come out in profit, and Van Gaal insists that United were the better team in the 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge, which emphasises his point.
“Against Chelsea at home, we were equal, and away we were much better in spite of what Jose Mourinho said,” insists the Dutchman.
“The difference is not the level of the performance. It’s how to finish the game. And Chelsea has done that the best.”
Van Gaal’s summer of rebuilding has begun early with the £25m acquisition of PSV Eindhoven’s Memphis Depay.
It takes his total spend in his first year at Old Trafford to £175m, and there is certainly more to come.
“It’s not me who spends the money,” he says. “I look for the players who fit our profile and then I say to (Executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward: ‘This player is my first choice and the second option is that player and then we go to third if they are not available.’
“But it’s Ed who’s negotiating, not me. It’s out of my hands.
“For me, the money is not important. You can see that because the most expensive players are not playing at the moment.
“It’s not the money that’s playing, but the person. And he has to perform the way we want to perform as Manchester United.
“When you buy players for a lot of money, the pressure is unbelievably high. It’s not so easy for them.
“The first question is: ‘Does he fit the profile we want?’ That’s the most important thing.”
United will be without injured England pair Wayne Rooney and left-back Luke Shaw this afternoon.
But while Van Gaal doesn’t want Shaw to be involved in this summer’s Under-21 tournament, he has no issue with his skipper completing an international programme with stretches into mid-June.
“Rooney is 29 and he’s old enough to decide,” he says. “He has built up his strength and that’s a big difference with a player like Shaw.
“He is 19 and has come to the biggest club in the world with a lot of physical load, and also a mental load. You can’t compare them.”
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