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Manchester United didn’t deserve to lose insists Mourinho

Mourinho says it would be hard to in the Premier League season with his side playing in the Europa League.

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Watford manager Walter Mazzarri has dismissed suggestions that there is a rivalry between himself and Jose Mourinho.

“I have a very good relationship with Mourinho”, Mazzarri stated at a news conference. “It is not a competition I want, it is not a competition the players want”, Mourinho said, as quoted by the Guardian. He plays for the England team, 90 minutes the last weekend.

United turned up with a diluted lineup, having made eight changes from the 2-1 loss to Manchester City on Saturday, but put out a strong team nonetheless.

This game could prove a real marking point in Mourinho’s squad management and we think these three need to step up tonight and stake their claim…

Mourinho handed starts to forwards Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, while record signing Paul Pogba retained a spot in the line-up against the Dutch side, but a laboured offensive display from United lacked any fluency.

It means United are now preparing for their first-ever group campaign in the Europa League or Uefa Cup, its predecessor, kicking off their campaign in Holland against Feyenoord and a familiar face in their skipper Kuyt.

Mourinho said: “I think the game on Sunday will be an independent game”.

“We wanted to give ourselves a good start to the group but unfortunately we didn’t play up to our usual standards”.

Whilst Feyenoord had the better first half, they didn’t have the same game plan going into the second, meaning that a winning goal wasn’t expected by the home side.

“We must find that motivation that I found myself already and I have to pass that motivation on to the players, because I know the Europa League is not the big dream of every big player”. The first half, my players were in control of the game but not pushing.

“This is not a competition that Man United wants”.

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If everything goes to plan, United will not be in the Europa League next season, but that should make their participation in it more significant.

Chris Smalling's first start of the campaign did not go to plan