Mourinho’s explanation for why he has dropped the defender is likely to reassure United fans, with whom Bailly has become a firm favourite.
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Meanwhile, Mourinho explained Eric Bailly’s absence from the last two squads has been because of the Ivory Coast’s World Cup absence rather than any fitness concern. We learned after the first few games that the performances were good enough that we weren’t always going to get beat, and that gave us confidence.
Jose Mourinho revealed that Eric Bailly has been left out of his Manchester United sides because he is not World Cup-bound.
“You ask me if I think it would be a good fit and I say “yes”.
The Red Devils are firmly placed in the second position in the standings and they can genuinely seal the runner-up spot with a victory over Chris Hughton’s side.
“I’m still positive. He’s important, he’s a player I like”. And I say it because he is more than my assistant, he is my friend.
“That is not the way we play”.
Granted, Manchester City have won the Premier League and United can only slip to third if Liverpool win both their games and United only pick up one point from their last three.
United were without either of the injured Romelu Lukaku or Alexis Sanchez, and their firepower was missed as Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford failed to make the most of rare chances to start up front.
With the defeat, United have now lost three league matches in a season against newly promoted clubs for the first time since the 1989-90 season. I know we can do it, we only have two matches to get the four points we need.
Brighton’s survival party had been put on hold by a run of seven games without a win.
A win for Brighton will all but guarantee their place in the Premier League next season. United goalkeeper David De Gea pushed the ball onto the head of Gross and, although Marcos Rojo hooked it clear from underneath the crossbar, goal-line technology confirmed it crossed the line. Only Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Leicester have beaten Albion at home since August previous year.
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Rashford forced Mathew Ryan to make a smart stop, and substitute Lingard skewed a shot wide, but that was as close as United came to an equaliser.
