Jose Mourinho has slammed the attitude of his Manchester United players despite their win against St Etienne
In the post match conference, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho hit out at the relaxed attitude of the players despite them picking up a three-goal lead going into the second leg of the UEFA Europa League.
ESPN quoted him as saying: “I had the feeling immediately in the dressing room — too noisy, too funny, too relaxed. Then my assistants had the feeling in the warm-up, with some of the guys not really focused on the getting the right adrenaline in their bodies.”
“So, lack of concentration. And when you don’t have it, it’s difficult to recover it. So in the first half was hard. I am not happy with it. At half-time, the result could be 1-1. I always think we have to play every game with the same attitude.”
Summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star of the show as he bagged all of United’s goals on the night to give them something to build on in the second leg. The Swede did not have the best of games, but found himself in the right place at the right time and electrified the fans in attendance at Old Trafford.
His first goal had a touch of luck about it as the ball found its way into the back of the net through a deflected free-kick. He then saw the ball come to his feet and all he had to do is slot it into the goal to double the Red Devils’advantage. In the second-half, the 35-year-old slotted from the spot to score his 17th career hat-trick and his first for his new club.
It was undoubtedly a good result for Manchester United, but there is still room for improvement if they are to realistically challenge for the Europa League. Even though they maintained a clean sheet, their defenders were prone to lapses in concentration and were lucky not to pay the price.
Mourinho has every right to be infuriated at his players and will be hoping for an improved performance in the next few fixtures. The Red Devils’next match is against Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup this weekend.
