“I don’t want to go into that direction [singling out bad performers], I don’t want to personalise”.
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At the halftime break, Mourinho took off Lingard and Mkhitaryan and introduced Herrera and Rashford instead.
A much-changed side is expected at Vicarage Road after Mourinho made eight alterations in Rotterdam.
The 36-year-old enjoyed six years at north-west rivals Liverpool and netted a hat-trick in a 3-1 defeat of United in March 2011.
United were defeated in their opening Europa League game of the season after Tonny Vilhena struck a 79th-minute victor for the Dutch side.
United seemed convinced that the lanky Danish striker was offside in the build-up, though the photographic evidence seems to suggest otherwise…
“In the first half we did not have an especially ambitious attitude”, the United manager said.
Defeat was United’s fourth in a row in European away games, and came five days after a 2-1 home defeat by Manchester City. “Of course, experience up until now has told me this is the correct way to act and even if I was in Italy now that’s how I would act, like in the United Kingdom”.
“I wasn’t saying we were a phenomenal team and we’re going to destroy every opponent”.
“I think the game on Sunday will be an independent game”.
We know that in the Europa League everyone wants to play Man United, everyone wants to fight until their limits, which they did.
But Mazzarri insists none of that matters on Sunday, and said: “I have a very good relationship with Mourinho”.
“We were pushing and Feyenoord capitalized because it is exactly at that moment where we lose the game”.
“In the second half they looked a little bit stronger than us, but we are very happy to win”.
“Obviously some played better than others but you can’t judge on one game”.
Signed for a world-record fee, the France midfielder was anonymous for large parts of the encounter in Holland.
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The United manager conceded the mood in the squad was no longer quite so buoyant, but he is confident his players will put their recent struggles behind them this weekend.
