Jose Mourinho’s appointment and some marquee signings helped bring a feelgood factor back to Old Trafford after the prosaic reign of Louis van Gaal.
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Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho insists his side did not deserve to lose their Europa League opener at Feyenoord.
“If you win, you always know it is a good plan but there were moments in the game where we had it tough”, the former Arsenal, Rangers and Barcelona player said.
I said: “‘Yes, it’s a good start, yes, a very good start, ‘ but I was never on the moon”, he said.
United’s play was scrappy at times with lone striker Rashford guilty of a few misplaced passes and too often running into dead ends, while its midfield struggled for fluency. Let’s not make an excuse for Sunday because we have to play this game.
“But, to be honest, I think we didn’t play phenomenal matches in these two defeats, but in both I think it is a punishment for the team because we deserved more than the results we got”.
“United upped the tempo and used their physical presence in moments of the game, making it very hard for us”.
A 79th-minute Tonny Vilhena goal ensured United began their Europa League campaign with defeat in Rotterdam to set a club record of four away defeats running in European competition.
“I’ve not seen it myself but it’s unfortunate if that is the case”, he said when MUTV mentioned the missed offside call. “I know the situation is not a case of clicking your fingers and everything is ideal, but to be honest I think we didn’t play phenomenal matches in these two defeats but to lose both I think is a punishment for the team because I think we deserved more”.
“The second half was when they increased intensity and that was when they conceded the goal”.
“I think the game on Sunday [against Watford] will be an independent game, a new event, another match, it starts at minute zero at 0-0 so it has nothing to do with the previous two matches”. Anthony Martial’s fizzing strike wide was the best United could muster in a lacklustre first half that showed little sign of improvement after the break.
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As mentioned before, the performance of the team was very similar to the performance in the derby, where a slow start turned around and looked promising in the second half of the game.
