Mourinho: Beating the ‘fear’ factor
Manchester United fought back from two down to beat Newcastle 3-2 and avert a defeat that would have cranked up the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho.
The hosts conceded twice in a lacklustre first 10 minutes, with Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto breezing in to score.
United briefly roused themselves with Marcus Rashford heading wide from five yards, but also needed David de Gea’s excellence to deny Muto his second and a potentially decisive third for the Magpies.
The hosts departed at the break to jeers some of which were aimed at the club’s owner and executives, rather than the manager. But by the final whistle, it was the name of Mourinho that rang around Old Trafford.
“Marcus Rashford was sad on the pitch,” Mourinho said.
“Scott McTominay was scared on the pitch. Even older players commit mistakes that are not normal.
“At half-time we had a good conversation. We didn’t promise that we would win the match.
“We promised we would give absolutely everything without any fear, without any pressure, just the pressure of giving everything and of course they gave everything. We fought so much.
“They deserve even if the game ends 2-2. The feeling would be a positive feeling because nobody can promise to win matches.” The Portuguese, who brought Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini off the bench in pursuit of victory, saw his side reenergised after the break, when two of his three substitutes found the net. As Newcastle dropped deeper, Mata swept home a free-kick with 20 minutes left to trigger an onslaught on the visiting goal. Martial curled home six minutes later from Paul Pogba’s pass and, after goalkeeper Martin Dubravka pawed away Chris Smalling’s effort, Sanchez delivered the winner in the last minute of normal time, heading in Ashley Young’s cross.
Bournemouth need to improve: Howe
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe says his team “still have room to improve” after they humbled a poor Watford side 4-0 to move up to fifth in the Premier League.
David Brooks opened the scoring for the Cherries before Joshua King converted from the spot after being brought down by Christian Kabasele, who was sent off for a second bookable offence.
The Norwegian forward then added a third for Bournemouth in first-half injury time, and Callum Wilson wrapped up the win early in the second half.
The victory was Bournemouth’s biggest away win in the Premier League.
“It wasn’t perfect,” Howe said.
“I’m pleased but we have room to improve and grow from today. Watford made it difficult, even with 10 [men], but we were professional.
“It’s a great start. It is so early it is difficult to make predictions. All we can do is work and try to achieve what our limit is.”
Watford looked confident in the early stages, with their best chances falling to Will Hughes, who drew a good save from Asmir Begovic with a shot from the edge of the area.
However, once Kabasele had seen red after 32 minutes, they were never able to find a foothold in the game and Bournemouth played through their lines with ease. The Cherries had chances to further their advantage in the second half. King fired straight at Ben Foster when crossing may have been the better option, and Ryan Fraser was tackled with King and Wilson in space. But Eddie Howe’s team were unable to add to their four-goal lead, to the relief of the home crowd.