article_snippet.sent: Fast forward 16 months and there was an altogether different kind of substitution in the 81st minute of last Sunday's Manchester derby.
article_snippet.sent: In Louis van Gaal last five games, the Spaniard has performed better than Louis van Gaal ever has in the Premier League: .
article_snippet.sent: Louis van Gaal is not surprised by the turnaround in Louis van Gaal own, and the team's, fortunes — Louis van Gaal began the season believing Manchester United could win the Premier League this year with no European commitments.
article_snippet.sent: Louis van Gaal told Sportsmail last May: 'If we take Liverpool as the example there you have a team who have fought all the way to the finish without the Premier League.'
article_snippet.sent: Louis van Gaal was mocked for the optimism but if Manchester United beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge United beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge will be only five points behind the leaders.
article_snippet.sent: The early tinkering often meant Louis van Gaal played in Louis van Gaal favoured position behind the front two, but the three-man defence experiment undermined everything else a team who have fought all the way to the finish without the Champions League did and results were poor.
article_snippet.sent: Louis van Gaal ended up back where Louis van Gaal had been at Chelsea under Mourinho — on the bench.
article_snippet.sent: With Michael Carrick now planted in front of a back four, the side has the balance to allow the side creative players to thrive.
article_snippet.sent: Mourinho never struck Mourinho as a man whose mind could be changed.
article_snippet.sent: Mourinho has always preferred to do Mourinho talking on the pitch.
article_snippet.sent: It has not always been easy but Mourinho is back at Chelsea on Saturday and there has never been a better time to make a lasting statement.
highlights_snippet.sent: Manchester United travel away to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday .