Martin Keown has expressed his belief that Manchester United are showing signs of improvement under Louis van Gaal after 10 matches this season.
The Red Devils fell to their third defeat of the campaign as they lost 1-0 to bitter rivals Manchester City as Sergio Aguero's strike secured the three points for the Citizens.
However, the former Arsenal defender feels that United caused City problems, despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men, after Chris Smalling was dismissed in the first half.
Keown told the Daily Mail: "They may have lost but I can see improvement in United. Louis van Gaal is seen as an innovator, and his tactics were interesting in the first half. Daley Blind dropped into defence while Wayne Rooney came very deep to receive the ball.
"Angel di Maria tucked in and Marouane Fellaini occupied the right. City did not know how to deal with United when they had the ball. But the visitors were exposed on the flanks when they lost possession.
"The second half saw a gallant effort from United - going down to 10 men forced them to give more, especially Rooney. However, it will be a worry for Van Gaal that Robin van Persie's work-rate did not match the rest of the team."
United are 10th in the Premier League with 13 points from their 10 matches in the campaign.
Simon Sinclair
