MOURINHO REFLECTS ON HARD-FOUGHT WIN
Jose Mourinho felt his Manchester United side fully merited Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Huddersfield Town, on a day when Old Trafford remembered those we lost in the Munich Air Disaster 60 years ago...
ALWAYS IN CONTROL
"I think we had around 80 per cent of ball possession in the first half but no goal. And then go to half-time 0-0 and you feel a little under pressure, so in the second half it was important to be calm, to play and not lose our identity and go direct when we have these kind of attacking players who are better with passing and attacking movement. In the second half we had a little bit more intensity, we recovered the ball higher and faster, and then first goal came. Even at 1-0, I felt the game was over because we were so much in control. So I think it was a solid performance; even defensively, we recovered the ball high up the pitch."
ANALYSIS OF THE GOALS
"Great pressure by Matic, good recovery of the ball, good cross and then, of course, good movement and a good finish [by Lukaku]. [Alexis] almost broke my heart [by missing the initial penalty] but the important thing is the second goal to really kill the game."
McTOMINAY FIRST-HALF PENALTY APPEAL
"I don’t know – I didn’t watch it on the TV. Maybe yes, maybe no. I didn’t like the fellow [Van La Parra] pretending he was injured and then getting the ball – that’s a yellow card, minimum. But they fought hard; they have 24 points and every point for them is gold, so they were fighting for points."
ALEXIS ENJOYED THE DYNAMIC
"Alexis played in a three and he played at Old Trafford for the first time. But I don’t want to individualise as the attacking players have so much quality; we had Martial and Rashford to bring to the game from the bench. It will be even easier in the future for them to play together. Alexis enjoyed the dynamic of the team. He’s a fantastic player but not a prima donna. He’s a humble guy who doesn’t forget where he started. I’m pretty sure that when he was playing in Chile, he had difficult places to play and difficult opponents, so he’s quite used to it."
POGBA WAS A NICE GUY
"[The penalty-taking decision] was between him and Paul. I think Paul was a nice guy to him and understood that it would be important to score, so he let him take the penalty. I don’t think it was a dream goal for Alexis – I think everybody prefers to score a penalty without a save and the second attempt, but he showed his attention to detail and his desire and, for me, that’s fine."
FITTING RESULT TO MARK MUNICH ANNIVERSARY?
"The result has no relation with the commemoration and the respect that everyone showed to the people directly and indirectly involved in the event. I think it’s nice to play at home, to win and to stay in the position that’s not our ambition, but it’s the position we’re in at this moment and we have to fight to keep it."
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