“He is my captain, he is the club captain, the players’ captain and that is hard because sometimes you are the club captain because you have lots of years in the club”, Mourinho said.
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The home side showed glimpses of flair play seldom seen under Louis van Gaal or David Moyes, and Mata made it 2-0 when he completed a fine team move on 37 minutes.
The reigning Premier League champions Leicester City head to Manchester looking for just their third win of the campaign, while United will be hoping to end their losing run after dropping six points in their last two league games.
“My captain is my captain”, Mourinho said. “It’s not a problem”.
Rooney, 30, is on the bench after Mourinho said on Friday that the forward does not have “special privileges”. I am blaming the people that after the England-Slovakia [game] were, in my opinion, too strong with somebody that is a very important player in the history of English football, is the captain of England, has the record of goals, is nearly the record [holder] of matches [played]. “It went well for us”.
Wayne Rooney is not in a good place at Manchester United.
Rashford sliced high and wide when Ibrahimovic sent him clean through on goal, before the big Swede spun and volleyed over the crossbar after Pogba’s glorious chip, as United began to play with some long-awaited flair.
With Ander Herrera also preferred to Marouane Fellaini in the centre of midfield alongside Paul Pogba, Mourinho’s side looked more like the vintage United who regularly trampled their opponents at Old Trafford under manager Alex Ferguson. But there is one thing I know – the rules of the game.
Rooney has struggled for form in United’s recent games, with critics saying he has lost pace and explosiveness and slows down the team’s attacking tempo.
Rooney started last Sunday’s Premier League game at Watford and against Northampton in midweek in the EFL Cup, but Mourinho on Saturday named him among the substitutes.
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“Honestly”, Mourinho said, “I think there was a Wayne before the Slovakia-England and a Wayne after Slovakia-England”. He has also scored 246 times for United and needs four more goals to surpass Bobby Charlton as the club’s record scorer.
