Perhaps Louis van Gaal should flounce out of his pre-match press conferences a little more often. It is, at least, a very Manchester United thing to do. Just as here his United team – laid out twitching on the slab for most of the past month – was briefly animated again; if not quite transformed, then at least recognisably as an incarnation of the mixed and flowing substance that is Manchester United.

Van Gaal's team have gone eight games without a win after this decelerating 0-0 draw. But for now, at least, he lives on. More importantly this was an occasion that felt nothing like the wake many had predicted. A sixth goalless draw of the season tells its own story. But if this really is to be the last of Louis, it was at least an occasion that saw Chelsea and United offer a glimmer of that buried champions' drive.

Van Gaal can on this occasion be proud of his players, and proud of the home support, which offered just the mildest isolated boo at the end as he wandered back down the tunnel. If this was a send-off, it was a respectful one, a moment of togetherness rather than discord.

Partisan

Last night, Old Trafford was partisan, loud and supportive. Boos were reserved for opposition players recovering from onfield agony, for the referee and for Chelsea’s fans as they launched into a sarcastic chant of “attack, attack, attack” deep into the second half. Van Gaal’s name was even chanted once or twice, with the words “red and white army” added on dutifully.

Old Trafford has had an air of waiting for some time now, trapped in a cycle of distant expectations, constantly peering to see what’s around the next corner. Here, though, the atmosphere before kick-off was restrained rather than mutinous. A delivery of wretched José Mourinho Manchester United scarves – somebody’s idea of a bad joke, surely – were on show at the stalls ringing the ground, but hardly seen inside.

It was still an odd occasion all round in what is a delightfully odd Premier League season. Two teams that have won nine of the last 11 league titles, who have both been champions of Europe in the last decade, who have frankly never been this rich, came to Old Trafford like a pair of ailing tyrannosaurs, bandaged and grizzling, lurching between eras.

Van Gaal strode out with his team at the start, shoulders straight, document wallet held touchingly beneath his arm. United's players were cheered warmly, and with Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial ahead of Juan Mata and Ander Herrera, United made a fast start, Rooney's touch setting up Mata for a shot that twanged the bar.

Intermittently thrilling

For the opening hour at least, this was an intermittently thrilling game between two teams who appeared to have remembered how to play with passion and even some shin-clattering anger. It helped that United could field that rare thing, a team with everyone vaguely in their best position, the full-backs aside. Those looking for signs of dressing-room rebellion might even have pointed to the urgency of United’s early passing, much of which went forwards, and a willingness to shoot. Steady, boys. José’s probably watching this.

Rooney found space from his central position without dropping too deep, although he did produce two horrible misses in the second half.

Daley Blind was tenacious and precise with his passing. Eight first-half shots on goal was rich pickings indeed. If United’s players had a chance here to demonstrate dissatisfaction with their manager, then they chose to run and fight instead. Indeed, at times like these, it is tempting to suggest managing United is simple. All the fans want is this: boldness, ambition, verve, aggression. It is a simple enough argument, albeit one that reflects only part of the picture.

The real business of actually winning matches, of taking a title even when the gears are grinding and smoking at times, as Chelsea did last season, requires a bit more.

It is this solidity Van Gaal’s build-from-the-bottom process has been trying to work towards, with much smoking and juddering on the runway. Let’s face it, Alex Ferguson’s team were hardly dashers in the later years.

For now, Van Gaal’s unloved United lives on. Guardian Service