Jose won’t give up on catching runaway City
JOSE Mourinho insisted Manchester United will not give up on the Premier League title race after his side cut Manchester City’s lead back to 11 points.
Mourinho’s side won 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday night with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard before Gareth Barr y replied for the hosts.
And Mourinho is adamant United will keep going until the end of the season despite their Manchester rivals’ huge lead at the top.
“I know that the questions are always coming in the same direction and I keep saying the same,” Mourinho said.
“Our last match in the Premier League is Watford at Old Tr a f ford i n mid-May, a nd until then in ever y match we go – ever y match we will tr y to win.
“If people ask that question to us and then you do it to the third team and the fourth and to the fifth and to the sixth, probably they will disappear.
“Probably they want to go on holidays. We don’t want to go on holidays. We want to play until the last match.”
Mourinho refused to be drawn on the leaked video which emerged on social media before United’s victory at the Hawthorns, showing City players celebrating Saturday’s win against Tottenham by taunting United over their cautious style of play with the words “park the bus”.
“I didn’t see, I didn’t watch,” Mourinho said. “I am not interested in doing that.
“You are the ones to make your evaluations, your comments. For me, nothing.”
United are set to check on the fitness of captain Antonio Valencia after he limped off with a sore hamstring after 66 minutes at West Brom.
The full-back will be assessed ahead of the League Cup trip to Bristol City on Wednesday and next Saturday’s Premier League game at Leicester.
“The Valencia injury is what I call a December injury,” said Mourinho.
“It is an injury of the accumulation of fatigue. It is a muscular one – hamstring. Big, small, medium? I don’t know.
“He is an experienced guy who will know not to let it go to difficult limits.
“But it is an injury of fatigue – everyone in the Premier League, especially the ones with more accumulation of cups and European cups, are at risk.”
Klopp eyes top four finish
West Brom are still without a win in four games under new boss Alan Pardew despite an improved second-half display against United.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp admits City will be almost impossible to catch at the top of the Premier League, but the Liverpool boss would happily settle for a top-four finish as a lucrative consolation prize.
Goals from Philippe Coutinho, Mohamed Salah, Dejan Lovren and Roberto Firmino sent the free-scoring Reds up to fourth place.
They are 18 points behind runaway leaders City, but Klopp is happy with his team’s current form as they chase a place in next season’s Champions League.
“Can City be caught? I don’t know. I don’t have a crystal ball. But if they struggle, like maybe nobody with their quality has struggled before, then someone should be there to use it,” Klopp said.
“I don’t see it, but if I stopped working hard the moment I couldn’t be a league champi- on, I wouldn’t be here. We have so many things to play for. It’s really hard, really intense in this league, and it’ll be unbelievable the number of points you’ll need at the end of the season to get anything.
“A lot of teams are in good shape, but City are winning all their games.”
Liverpool’s win over Bournemouth, their fourth consecutive victory on the road, leaves Klopp’s side only four points adrift of third-placed Chelsea.
They now have 34 points from 18 games, largely on target to match the 76 points they reached last season to finish fourth.
Egypt winger Salah has been a revelation since arriving from Roma, but Klopp is reluctant to talk up individuals.
“He’s got 20 goals but what happens if he doesn’t score from now on? He didn’t score against West Brom, when we needed it more than today,” Klopp said.
“You always talk about Mo. He knows how much I respect and like him. But I don’t go home and think: ‘How good is he?’ That’s not how it works.
“He’s a very important player for us, like the others. But I’m very satisfied with how we played in this game.”