Jose Mourinho has hailed the attitude of his Manchester United players after their 2-1 victory over Blackburn in the FA Cup.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has praised the attitude of his players as they showed grit and determination to fight back from a goal down to beat Championship side Blackburn Rovers in Round 5 of the FA Cup at Ewood Park.
In his post-match press conference, the Guardian quoted him as saying: “The attitude of the players was good. Sometimes you have difficult matches because you make it difficult for yourself.”
Danny Graham opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17th minute courtesy of some excellent play by Marvin Emnes which left the United keeper Sergio Romero with no chance to stop the ball from going into the back of the net.
Marcus Rashford equalised for the Reds ten minutes later and Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench in the second half to seal all three points for them. Despite taking the fight to their Premier League opponents, the Rovers bowed out of the oldest club competition in the world.
Just minutes after the final whistle, Mourinho and his United players learned their fate in the competition. The draw pitted them against table toppers and the Portuguese’s former club Chelsea.
The Blues have been in stellar form this season and look set to lift the Premier League for the second time in three years. New manager Antonio Conte has done an exceptional job to turn fortunes around for the London outfit, and they will be looking to complete a league and cup double by winning the FA Cup.
7 – Manchester United have won seven of their last nine FA Cup ties v Chelsea, but have lost the last two (2007 Final, R6 in 2013). History.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 19, 2017
On learning that they have drawn Chelsea, Mourinho had a few interesting things to say about his former employers. According to Sky Sports, he stated:
“Probably Chelsea can only think about that (the FA Cup) because I think they are champions and they have nothing else to fight for.”
“The FA Cup is something I believe is important for them. I have to play St-Etienne (on Wednesday), I have to play the (League Cup) final, I have to play hopefully another opponent in the Europa League. I have to fight for a top four position in the Premier League. I have so many things to think about.”
Mourinho will also be under immense pressure as, along with a congested fixture list, he will not have the best of memories of visiting Stamford Bridge. The last time he took on Chelsea, he watched his side get battered left, right and centre, and lose the game 4-0. He will be hoping that Ibrahimovic and co. help get one over his former team.